


if you go, take a little piece of me

by Archadian_Skies



Series: the heat that drives the light [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Leo Manfred Redemption, M/M, Poisoning, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Sabotage, Sickfic, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-01-06 04:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21220943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archadian_Skies/pseuds/Archadian_Skies
Summary: A sudden mysterious autoimmune illness befalls the RK series androids and it's a race against time to save them before they succumb to their ailment. With no other option than to temporarily house them in YK500 units, their friends and family find themselves struggling with the drastic changes as the RK brothers try to navigate an unfamiliar, much taller world.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s 6:30am and she’s not sure if Elijah is up early or hasn’t bothered to go to bed the night before. 

“Off to class, dear one?” He pushes up his glasses to rub his eyes tiredly as she packs her pointes into her bag. It’s the latter, she notes, seeing his bloodshot eyes and dazed behaviour.

“Yes.” She presses a kiss to his cheek and then pokes his temple. “And off to bed with you, mister. No more caffeine until you’ve slept a little.”

“Alright alright.” Her silly little genius relents with a weary sigh, though he still walks her to the door and helps her into her coat. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I should hope you’re still asleep by then.” Chloe chides, hands on her hips. “I won’t work with a clumsy, sleep-deprived assistant.”

He laughs at that, expression sheepish. “I promise, little love.” 

It’s a short but pleasant drive to 1526 Broadway Street, home of Ballet Detroit, and Chloe admires the soft flutter of morning snowfall as it dusts the city slowly stirring awake. Her dance partner is waiting for her on the steps when she arrives, and she’s quick to fall into his embrace.

“Good morning Ronan!”

“Good morning, Ms Chloe.” The RK900 greets politely, British elocution as crisp as the winter snow. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” She smiles, looping her arm through his as they head inside. It’s become a routine now, the two of them attending the weekly open barre class held by the company. It began with her teaching him in Gavin’s apartment what feels like a lifetime ago, when she’d been injured and had gone into hiding. After that, during his testing phase when he’d been reactivated, she continued teaching him and he took a shine to it. It helped him shed the intimidating stiff, machine-like movements programmed into him by CyberLife and gave him a certain elegance to his demeanour. 

They part to get changed into their ballet clothes, reuniting in the practice studio and joining the back of the class so as not to impose. He takes a drink from his thirium bottle and drops it into his bag before coming to stand opposite her. She gives his hand an encouraging squeeze as they take their place at the barre.

“Big nice circle, continuous_ port de bras_; dip into the _ plie_.” The teacher instructs, and Chloe loses herself to the movements, to the soft jaunty little tune played by the pianist. 

“Dig your heels, anchor your pelvis and ground your weight. Four count balance in fifth; broad back, shoulder’s strong. Demi _ plie _ into an _ arabesque_.”

She looks over and watches him unfurl his arms like wings, chest puffed and head tipped back; he’s beautiful, a finely honed killing machine with all the grace and regality of Roberto Bolle himself. 

“_Ronde de jambe, allonge _ . Roll up through the feet; tall balance high fifth. Back to first and _ allonge_.”

He misses a step, freezing as his LED blinks red. Frowning, he picks up where he left off and leans into an _ arabesque_. Three repetitions, and he loses balance, hand gripping the barre to prevent himself toppling over.

“Ronan?”

His LED flashes red before remaining a continuous, solid colour like a warning branded into his temple. His face crumples into an expression of pain and he drops to his knees, startling the class. Clapping a hand over his mouth, he muffles a coughing fit as best he can, eyes squeezed shut and brows tightly creased. 

“Ronan!” She ducks under the barre and scrambles to his side, gripping his shoulders. “Ronan! What’s wrong?” 

Blue seeps between his fingers as he continues to cough, and he roughly shoves her aside before vomiting thirium. Chloe retracts the skin from her hand and reaches for his wrist to initiate a connection, but he batts her hand away.

“Don’t!” It’s the only word he manages before he keels over and falls still. Chloe screams.

* * *

There’s something soothing about early winter mornings, when the city is slowly waking up and there’s a blanket of quiet atop the snow. Sure it’s an absolute bitch to be up at such an ungodly hour but at least nature’s giving him something nice to look at. A key slides into the front door and he hears soft clinking as Sumo shakes the snow off his fur dutifully on the front steps. Connor opens the door and lets him inside first as Hank gives them a sleepy wave, stepping aside so Sumo can reach his water bowl. 

“G’mornin’.” He greets through a yawn as Connor hangs up Sumo’s leash and scarf.

“Good morning Hank.”

“Made you a cup of Tearium so you can warm up.” He gestures at a steaming mug on the counter before picking up his own coffee-filled one. “Got that damn morning briefing later, better drink that down fast.”

“Thank you Hank.” He nods with a smile as he accepts the beverage and takes a tentative sip. It’s apparently coded with vanilla ‘flavouring’, not that it makes any difference to Hank; it still reeks of acetone to him no matter what Connor tells him. Still, Starbucks is making a killing and there’s at least a dozen little niche cafes in town with their own little variations. Capitalism stops for no one, not even androids apparently.

Connor makes a face, LED blinking red.

“Too hot?” Hank asks sympathetically. “Sorry kiddo, I followed the instructions though.”

“No, it’s-” the android coughs into his hand, LED cycling a solid red. Hank steps around the counter and gives him a few firm whacks between the shoulder blades. 

“Drink that too fast did you? Down the wrong pipe? Didn’t even know that could happen to androids.” He chuckles, rubbing his back soothingly. “S’fine, cough it out.” 

Connor continues to cough, and it starts to sound alarmingly wet. Blue splatters onto the counter and the grin drops from Hank’s face.

“Connor? Hey, breathe kiddo, breathe!” 

The android roughly shoulders passed him and leans over the sink, vomiting a mouthful of blue.

“Oh shit! Connor!” Hank fumbles for his phone. “I’ll call medbay and-”

“Dad-” Connor gasps, face a mask of fear, moments before he crumples to the floor.

“Connor!”

* * *

“Leo, I said I’ll do it.” Markus chides lightly, trying to shoo him away as he fiddles with the batter.

“It’s weird.” Leo mumbles, though he hands the wooden spoon back to him. 

“How is it weird? I’m making you breakfast.” His brother laughs and Leo makes a face.

“It’s just...weird.”

“I make breakfast for dad all the time. Simon does too.” He points out as he ladles batter onto the pan and skillfully turns it to make a perfect circle. “You’ve eaten our food multiple times.”

“Yeah but Simon’s taking dad to his hospital appointment and you’re making food just for me.” Leo argues, rubbing his arms to warm up against the morning chill. “It’s just...weird. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Well how about you make yourself a cup of coffee and a mug of Tearium for me and that way breakfast is a Manfred collaboration?”

“Deal.” Leo snorts back a laugh, rummaging through one of the cupboards for the coffee beans and Tearium bottle. It’s a simple process, certainly less effort needed compared to making pancakes but it does help make Leo feel less guilty that somehow the leader of the revolution is making him breakfast personally. He heats the Tearium in the fancy little device and lets it drip into the glass pot before moving on to the coffee machine. 

By the time both drinks are done, there’s a small stack of chubby pancakes sitting on a plate with a perfect cube of butter and little jug of maple syrup. 

“Oh man that looks fantastic.” Leo hands his brother his mug in exchange for the plate. “Thanks Markus.”

“And thank you, Leo.” Markus smiles as he sips his drink. They make their way to the dining table and Leo tucks into the pancakes as Markus settles opposite him.

He’s partway through his second pancake when Markus coughs, thumping his chest.

“Down the wrong hatch?” He grins as Markus continues to cough. And keeps coughing. And coughing. “Shit, Markus you okay?”

The chair screeches as Markus scoots back and stands up, hand clamped over his mouth. Slick thirium leaks down his chin.

“Oh fuck! Fuck! Markus!” Leo shouts, nearly toppling his chair over as he runs to his side. His brother pushes him away before falling to knees and vomiting blue all over the floor. “Shit shit shit!!!”

Fumbling for his phone, Leo scrolls through and hits ‘Call’. "Eli, it’s me! Something’s wrong with Markus!

* * *

Technically he’s still going to sleep, just as Chloe instructed, but he’ll do that after a shower and some breakfast. Ruffling his hair with a towel, he plops down on the couch as Peter places a breakfast tray on the coffee table.

“I’ve made you some muesli with berries and yoghurt, and there’s extra honey on the side if you’d like it.” The PL400 gestures. “I’m only giving you water because Chloe said ‘not a drop of coffee until I get back’.”

“Thank you Peter.” Elijah laughs and shakes his head. Yes she would say that, wouldn’t she.

Flicking the television on, he ports his phone from the device and onto the screen and begins the arduous task of going through his inbox. He’s only a few spoonfuls into his breakfast when Candace rushes into the room just as his phone rings, and a red alert flashes onscreen.

“Chloe’s utilising the emergency line via the lab! Something’s happened to Ronan!” 

[**Automated RK200 damage report; status: Critical**]

“Incoming call from Detroit Central Precinct.” Peter pokes his head back into the room. 

“Leo’s calling me too?” Elijah frowns and answers the call. “Leo?”

_ “Eli, it’s me! Something’s wrong with Markus!” _

“Elijah!” The screen flickers and it’s Chloe’s face. “Ronan collapsed, I’m bringing him over!”

“Sir, Central Precinct’s medbay are urgently requesting assistance as Connor has been brought in unconscious!”

So much for a quiet morning nap. Elijah shouts one instruction for all to hear.

“Bring them to Jericho. I’ll be right there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come take [morning barre class](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8zytT-8uuI)?


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m his brother, let me in!” Leo expects resistance because it happened last time, because humans really are pieces of shit and he doesn’t blame them for keeping them out. They take Markus’ deadweight from his arms and he expects to be barred entry but they just wave him in.

“Go, follow them to the Med Bay!” One of the police units shout, pointing down the main path and Leo takes off. The medroids are much faster, and Leo wills his stupid wrecked body to  _ move _ . 

He expects to see androids in the Med Bay but he doesn’t expect to see  _ those _ androids in the Med Bay. It’s Chloe and the Terminator, the looming RK900 with the British accent. Only he’s laid out on one of the beds, LED dull and eyes blank and open chest spilling with cables. His mouth is smeared with thirium, and blue stains his hand much the same as Markus. 

“Leo!” Chloe reaches for his hands, watching in distress as the medroids lay Markus out on the bed beside Ronan. “Eli told me something’s happened to the RK units.”

“Even Connor?”

“Yes, he was brought to Central Precinct’s med bay but Eli redirected them here.” Chloe looks at the doors almost expectantly. “Ronan collapsed at barre class this morning.”

“Markus choked on that tea stuff.” Leo tries not to look too hard as medroids begin to hook him up to various machines. 

“What, you fucking poisoned him is that it Manfred?” The barbed accusation originates from North, storming over to his side with murder in her eyes. “Thought to do away with Markus once and for all?”

“You’re absolutely fucking crazy if you think I had anything to do with this!” Leo shouts back, fury in his veins. “You don’t know jack shit about me!”

“I know enough about you, I’ve seen the memories!” She hisses, grabbing him by the lapels. 

“Stop that!” Chloe snaps, fuming. “Ronan drank from a bottle before class. Connor was having morning tea with Hank. This isn’t on Leo.” He yanks out of her grasp.

“I know you fucking loathe humans, but he’s my family and I’m sorting through my shit one day at a time so give me a fucking break!” 

“Connor’s here!” One of the medroids shouts, blessedly shifting the attention from them as other androids rush a gurney through the doors. Not too far behind is Hank Anderson, a Lieutenant Leo’s all too familiar with from his drug-addled years.

“Oh shit, they got Ronan too? And Markus?” Hank manages to exclaim through his laboured breathing. “Some sort of coordinated attack?”

“They’ve been poisoned, that has to be it.” Chloe bites her lip as she watches Connor subjected to the same procedures as his brothers. “Stats are barely holding; whatever it is, it’s fast. It’s causing a mass system failure. We’re pumping fresh thirium into Ronan and somehow his system is still rejecting it.”

“Wait,  _ fresh _ thirium?” North frowns. “But that should flush out whatever’s in there, right? This isn’t the first time some fuckwit’s tried to poison an android.”

“She’s right.” Hank nods grimly. “Chen caught that red ice guy who turned to poisoning Teariums after his ring was busted.”

“Detroit Metro technicians just pumped the victims full of fresh thirium and they recovered instantly.” North crosses her arms over her chest, and Leo can see a flash of fear in her eyes. “What the fuck is happening to these guys?”

“I tried to initiate a connection with Ronan when he was still conscious but he told me not to.” Chloe clenches her hands into fists. “I think it’s something more sinister than poison. I worked on Ronan’s reactivation personally: his system would be able to handle something like contaminated thirium easily without forcing himself into emergency shutdown.”

“So they’re all in a self-induced coma right now is that what you’re saying?” Hank looks over to where Connor lies, chest splayed open like a pinned butterfly. He winces and looks away, and Leo sympathises keenly.

“Yes. The RK series have that function since they are autonomous units.” She reaches out and gently rests her hand on Connor’s brow. “They’re able to initiate an emergency shutdown to protect their positronic core.”

“We get to the source.” Hank says slowly, looking over at Leo. “We get the bottles they drank from and bring them here for analysis.”

“Someone will need to go to Ballet Detroit for me, I’m not leaving this Med Bay.” Chloe states, and North nods.

“I’ll go.”

“Handle it with care, we don’t know how contagious it is. Mere contact may be enough to infect you. Gloves, and pack the liquid securely.” Chloe warns her with a stern look and then turns to him and Hank. “You two can stay here if you like, you’re family. You can send someone else to bring the contaminated tearium.”

“I’ll tell Simon. He’ll be coming back with dad soon.” Leo gets his phone ready. Hank digs in his pockets and pulls out a set of keys. 

“Is there anyone you can ask to go to mine? I’d really rather not leave the kid’s side.” 

“I’ll send one of the boys.” North grabs the keys. She darts Leo a glance he can’t decipher, before she takes off out of the bay and down the thoroughfare.

* * *

“Nothing like a trip to the hospital to remind me of my mortality.” Carl jokes, black humor a twist of a smile on his lips. 

“You’re doing very well and the doctor was very pleased with your results.” Simon reminds him as he helps him out of the taxi and back into his wheelchair. “Markus and Leo will be relieved.”

[ _ Alarm deactivated: welcome home, Carl _ ]

“Leo put a photo of pancakes on his feed, I hope there’s some left for me.” Carl quips as the door opens.

“I doubt it, but I’ll cook you a fresh batch.” Simon laughs, taking his coat and hanging it along with his before pushing him into the common room. The stench of thirium hangs thickly in the air.

“Is that blue blood?” Carl’s eyes widen. “Oh my god.” 

Simon feels his stress levels spike, hand flying to his temple and pressing two fingers to his LED.

_ Markus? Markus! Please pick up! _

The lack of answer only fuels Simon’s stress and he tries a different tactic.

“Leo? It’s Simon-  _ what _ ?!” He gasps in shock as Leo hurriedly fills him in, Carl gripping his wrist tightly in concern. “Y-yes I can do that! Yes I’ll be there right away!”

“Simon what happened?” Carl squeezes his wrist as Simon disconnects the call.

“No one really knows yet, but Leo said Markus may have been poisoned.” He chews his lip, wringing his hands anxiously. “He vomited blood and Leo called Elijah Kamksi who directed him to Jericho. Apparently Markus’ RK brothers were affected too and have been brought in.”

“An assassination attempt?” Carl guesses grimly. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind, but hearing it said aloud makes something icy cold grip his heart. Seemingly sensing his distress, Carl pats his hand. “Go, Simon. Keep me posted, will you?”

“O-of course Carl. I need to bring the bottle with me, they’re going to analyse it.” Nodding rapidly, more to himself than to Carl, Simon slips into the kitchen and pops the small bottle from the little heating device. There’s still a third left, and Simon caps it before sliding it into a ziplock just to be safe. When he exits into the foyer, Carl is waiting with his coat and scarf.

“Be safe. We don’t know if others have been targeted, and you may well be one of them.” His face is grim as he fusses over Simon’s scarf before clasping his hands. “Be safe, please.”

“I will, sir.”

* * *

Elijah Kamski sweeps into Jericho with a determined, thunderous look on his face and that makes him the third human to set foot in their self-segregated space. Josh has interacted with him a handful of times now and even now the man is an enigma to him. There are a thousand secrets in that man’s head that could arguably bring down the city, the very nation if Josh dares to think harder. It’s a wonder and a blessing he’s on their side instead of taking a stance against them, siding with the humans and denouncing his creations as faulty machines. Instead he is now the Chief Technical Officer of CyberLife and in his stead, helming the company, is the very first of his creations, the very first of their kind. 

“Update me.” He commands, eyes roving over the three figures splayed like dissected frogs.

“Unidentified contaminant in Tearium has induced mass system failure.” Dr Anthea reports, and there’s something, a flicker of recognition in Kamski’s eyes when he looks over at her. “We’re in the process of retrieving the original bottles for analysis.”

“And the RK androids?”

“Emergency shutdown protocols activated, systems critical and rejecting all fresh thirium transfusions. We’re periodically resetting their components to keep them alive.” 

“Virus scan?”

She pauses and looks over at Chloe. “We haven’t done it.”

“Chloe?” Elijah cocks a brow and the android sighs tiredly. 

“I’ve forbidden them from doing it. Not yet, anyway.” She squeezes Ronan’s unresponsive hand. “Before he shut down he warned me not to connect to him. Whatever it is, it’s not just physical poison. It’s something viral that’s causing an auto-immune response. They’ve been tricked into fighting themselves.” 

“Have you thought about asking her?”

“I don’t want to.” Chloe winces. “She’s so new to freedom. She deserves a chance to live her life.”

“She can create a completely self-contained artificial space that can safely hold any viral coding.” 

“She’s in Manhattan as a guest lecturer.”

“She’s doesn’t need to be here physically.” 

Josh watches their back and forth, arguments volleyed with ease, and he notes that Chloe is a reflection of her creator’s stubbornness, of his steadfast determination. Kamski reaches for her slowly, stepping around behind her and picking out the pins from her ballet chignon until her hair tumbles out of the bun. Gentle, practiced fingers card through the locks as he ties it back into a low ponytail and sweeps it over her shoulder. Chloe’s expression is one of pained surrender.

“To work?” Kamski prompts, and when she opens her eyes she’s wearing the same thunderous look on her face.

“To work.”

* * *

They’ve been kicked out of the operating suite and ushered into some side room and Hank’s going crazy with worry. He can’t stop bouncing his leg, he can’t stop looking at the door, and he can’t stop his mind snowballing one worst case scenario into twelve others. Instead he tries to focus on the other human beside him.

“They’re in the best possible hands.” Leo darts him a glance, and the kid looks like he’s trying to convince himself too. “They’ll figure it out.”

“Greatest pair of minds this side of the century, I’m sure they will.” Hank grumbles. “Even if Kamski gives me the creeps.”

“He’s fine. He’s just in work mode.” Leo huffs a tired laugh. “When he focuses on his work he tends to shut out everything else.”

Hank cocks a brow at him, and a little piece of information skitters into the forefront of his mind belatedly. “Oh yeah, you’re dating that slimeball.”

He laughs loudly at that, shaking his head. “He’s not a slimeball, he’s just...Eli. The way he looks at the world is just different, that’s all. He has a lot of defensive layers to him and you’ve probably met the one he uses for the public.”

Not entirely convinced but not really willing to press further, Hank lets it be and just looks him over. He’s a far cry from the skinny, feverish delinquent that frequented their holding cell back at Central Precinct.

“You doin’ ok now, Leo?” He asks him quietly. “You probably don’t remember me but-”

“You’re Lieutenant Hank Anderson, yeah I know. You investigated those child murders.” Leo shrugs. “And you were the one guy who gave a shit about me when I was falling apart.”

Stunned into silence, Hank blinks at Leo in surprise.

“Anniversary of my dad’s accident and he wouldn’t let me see him so I got fucking wasted.” Leo snorts at the memory, amusement a bitter twist on his mouth. “Got arrested and chucked in the cell again and it was freezing cold and I was coming down from a high and got the shivers. You got me a blanket and a bottle of water and a shitty cup of coffee the next morning. You were the only one who cared. How could I forget you?”

There’s something in Hank’s chest that squeezes at that, and before he can really stop himself he’s reaching over and clapping him on the shoulder.

“I got clean. I’m going to therapy.” Leo mumbles with a tentative smile. “I’m doin’ ok now.”

“Glad to hear it.” He means it, every word, and he gives his shoulder a squeeze. “You’re doin’ good, kid.” His face breaks into a wide smile and it’s contagious, and it’s a good distraction, a good kind of ache in Hank’s chest. Jeffrey always gave him shit for being a bleeding heart when it came to kids but a little kindness, a little compassion never goes astray. Living proof, right in front of him.

* * *

“It’ll need to be Connor.” She’s a hologram, her body in a lecture hall a state away. “I have the strongest connection with him, and the most recent.”

“We’re sorry to ask this of you.” Chloe bows her head contritely. 

“I’m not beyond helping my star pupils, Chloe. Even if I’m meant to be on holiday.” Amanda smiles in that regal way of hers. “Connect him securely and I’ll take care of the rest.” Her eyes flick over to Elijah. “You’re quiet, Elijah. Thoughts?”

“Risks.” He shrugs. “Whatever virus we’re dealing with may eat you alive too.” 

“There’s no gain without risk.” She says sagely. “At least we’ll know for sure what we’re dealing with. I can sever the connection.”

“Emergency exit may not work, Amanda.” Elijah frowns. “You risk bringing the virus with you.”

“You don’t know what I’m capable of anymore, Elijah.” Amanda says with all the patience of a well-seasoned mentor. “Eleven years of being left to my own devices certainly gave me enough time to enhance my capabilities.”

“Then we leave him to you.” He says simply, nodding. The back of Connor’s head is opened, and Elijah swaps the main cable from his positronic core. “Laptop’s built from scratch and will run through CyberLife’s testing network.”

“I know it well.” Amanda smiles a little coldly. “I only have what equipment the University can loan to me but it’ll be enough. I’ll be in touch shortly.”

“I hope so.” Elijah nods, and enters the console commands. Connor’s LED flutters back to life, cycling blue, yellow, red and holding. 

There’s a sense of inherent wrongness about him, like he’s not quite there, not quite whole. 

“Connor.” Amanda calls softly, and the android frowns down at his hands before looking at her. 

“Amanda?”

“You’re safe here.”

“Where is here?”

“With me.” She says simply. It’s a familiar layout, one she hopes will bring him comfort. It’s not the Zen Garden, it’s not the CyberLife garden, it’s Central Precinct. He’s glitching, his outline fuzzy and staticy and fighting his surroundings. “Sit, please.”

He sits at his desk and she sits across from him and he’s distracted, looking around himself and always returning to looking down at his hands.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You’re far away.” He looks at her and frowns. “The connection is thin.”

“I’m in New York.” Amanda laughs softly. “I’m meant to be on holiday. I’ve been invited to speak as a guest lecturer here and I thought I’d bracket it with leisure time.”

“It’s good to see you.” Connor smiles, and they really did design him to look warm and friendly and eager. 

“It’s good to see you too, Connor.” A pause. “But something’s wrong and you need to tell me.”

“Nothing’s wrong.” He says too quickly. “I’m functioning fine.”

“Do you think you are?”

“I am.” A nod. “I have a morning briefing at the precinct soon, so I can’t stay and talk for too long. Hank will want to leave soon to beat the traffic.”

There’s no gain without risk, she said so herself and that’s why she reaches out and gently smooths his hair back from his face. The effect is immediate and the whole construction shudders as the firewalls detect an intrusion. An auto-immune virus, set to trick one’s system into believing it’s under attack from a foreign contaminant when in fact it’s attacking itself. It’s clever. It’s a horrible way to die. 

“I don’t understand!” There’s fear in his eyes, real fear as he looks at his warping, glitching surroundings. “What’s happening?!”

She has to be fast. There’s so much code to parse through, so much to process and she’s throwing aside cascades of it. She knows his code as if it were a part of herself, and perhaps in a way it is. There’s an error here somewhere, an anomaly, something that doesn’t belong and she’s running out of time. 

“Amanda!” Connor clamps his hands over his ears, squeezing his eyes shut as the precinct shakes and crumbles. His outline violently flickers.

Almost there, she’s almost there, she can see his core coding and there’s a line  _ there _ , just a sprinkling of numbers and letters that shouldn’t be there but is. She’s out of time.

“It’ll be alright, Connor. I promise.” She lets go.

Connor’s eyes snap back into focus and his whole body arches off the table, taut as a bow. “Strap him down!” Elijah shouts, and the medroids rush to force him down. The android’s body shakes as if having a seizure and Chloe darts between them to yank out the cable and replace it with Connor’s own. He slumps like a cut marionette. A thin trickle of thirium slips out from his nose. 

Amanda’s hologram flickers to life beside the large screen. “It’s a virus, as we suspected.” A heavy sigh. “It’s tricking his system into believing it’s under attack, so it will reject all self-healing protocols and any sort of restorative actions and additives.” 

“We’re restarting their entire system every two minutes, we can’t keep this up.” Dr Anthea shakes her head. “With every restart we risk short-circuiting biocomponents and if it’s an auto-immune virus we won’t be able to replace it without complete organ rejection.”

“Do we replace their bodies entirely?” Chloe smooths Connor’s hair back into its usual style. “Print them a completely new body and transplant their cores?”

“We risk bringing the virus over.” Elijah shakes his head. “Besides, we cannot keep their cores separate without thirium flow for an extended amount of time. These three are prototypes. There are compatible components but they’re essentially one of a kind and will need time to construct from scratch.” 

“How long would we have, if we were to remove their cores?” Anthea looks over as the team caring for Markus force-restart his biocomponents. There’s a pause and then a soft whine as everything reboots.

“About an hour.” Elijah pushes his glasses up to rub his eyes tiredly. 

“So what you’re saying,” Simon squeezes Markus’ hand, the android having arrived earlier and promptly planted himself at the side of his partner, “is that there needs to be a way to keep their minds active while you fix what’s happening to their bodies.”

“Essentially, yes.”

“We cannot use just any empty shell.” Chloe fidgets with a stylus, tapping it to her lips. “Irreversible mental damage can be caused if the system is shocked into an unfamiliar body. The AP700s are the most advanced, but the boys have such unique programming that their minds may not be able to cope with a foreign body.”

“What do we know about the contaminant itself?”

“Nothing yet.” Josh shakes his head. “North’s over at the lab and they’re analysing all three liquids but nothing’s been flagged. It just seems like normal Tearium.”

“We can’t go through all the effort of printing them new shells only for the virus to carry over. And we can’t risk losing them by removing them from their bodies with no safe alternative.” Elijah sighs frustratedly. “There must be a better way.”

“Children.” Simon quietly suggests. “We can use children.”

“What?”

“YK500s are the most malleable androids.” He says slowly, testing the idea out aloud. “They’re essentially blank slates with highly adaptive processing cores. Parents are able to program whatever they want into those minds before activation, everything from memories, to likes and dislikes. What if you take their minds and download only the bare minimum that they need to function into YK500s, and lock the rest securely?”

They stare at Simon incredulously, and he almost feels the need to apologise for his suggestion before Chloe throws herself at him and squeezes him in a hug.

“Genius! You’re a genius!” She presses a kiss to his cheek and Simon squirms at the attention.

“Hardly. I’m a caretaker, I just know a lot about children.”

“We have YK500 parts here, more than enough to construct three shells.” Josh nods. “We can make it happen.” 

Elijah curls a finger at his chin, brows furrowed in thought. He looks over at Amanda, who responds with a nod.

“Then let’s make it happen.”

* * *

He’s really tired. He’s really really tired, and he’s a bit cold and he’s afraid but only a teeny tiny bit. 

“Nice and slow, Connor, it’s alright.” Someone soothes gently and he’s helped into an upright position. “That’s it sweetheart, that’s it. Nice and slow.” He rubs his eyes and they’re a bit sore as he blinks at his surroundings. “Hello darling, how are you feeling?”

“Chloe?” He tips his head. She seems...bigger. Somehow. 

“That’s right!” She giggles, smoothing his hair back fondly. 

“I’m a bit cold.” 

“Oh, yes you would be.” She turns to grab something, a small coat and that’s absolutely not going to fit him. “Here you are darling, let me help you.”

Only it does. It fits him perfectly. It’s very warm and soft and blue. He likes it.

“Do you know where you are?”

“Um.” Connor frowns, looking around him. “Jericho? It looks like the Med Bay.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“No?”

“Do you know that man over there?” She points at a window into some sort of waiting room and there’s a middle-aged man with grey hair and a beard and a worried expression on his face. He does know this man, but it’s fuzzy somehow, like his head’s been stuffed with cotton and he can’t sort through his thoughts. There’s a feeling though, like something warm and soft and familiar. A connection, a strong bond.

“Yes.” There’s something, lots of things he’s meant to remember but he can’t. There’s a tidal wave of memories held back by a reinforced dam not of his creation. He knows he is an android. His name is Connor. This lady here is Chloe RT600 the First of androids. He is in Jericho, a place of freedom. That man is… “He’s my dad.”


	3. Chapter 3

He looks nothing like Cole. Not that Hank expected him to look like Cole, but being told they were swapping Connor’s adult body temporarily for that of a six year old made his brain jump through some uncomfortable hoops and open up a box of memories and grief he’s been trying to tape shut for the past two years. 

“Hank, this is Connor.” Chloe introduces them and he’s not sure why, because the kid definitely looks like Connor still. Same brown eyes, same brown hair with unruly curls, same little spots on his face. Same puppy-like expressions.

“Hey kiddo.” Because he’s really a kid this time. Hank crouches down so he’s at eye level and Connor holds out his hand. To humor him, Hank takes it and gives it a gentle shake as if they’re meeting for the first time as adults and certainly not as family members. “You ready to go home?”

“Um, yes please.” His voice matches the age of his body, and it shouldn’t startle Hank but it does. Everything about the situation is goddamn weird but he knows he better just buck up and take it in stride because this is the best chance they’ve got at saving Connor. The boy fidgets with his hands a little, and Hank digs in his pocket to pull out the Liberty quarter he’d saved from Connor’s jacket. 

“Here.” The coin is placed in the awaiting small palm, and then immediately Connor places it in his mouth.

“Uh-”

“Ew.” He makes a face, plucking the coin out and glaring at it accusingly.

“Why did-”

“Remnants of his forensics programming.” Chloe giggles, mussing Connor’s curls. “Ghosts of habits we’ve repressed temporarily. He won’t have any of his detective skills but you’ll find he may go through some of the motions.”

The boy isn’t listening, busy inspecting the coin he’s been given, and Hank grins in amusement as Connor squints in scrutiny. 

“One down, two to go.” Chloe sighs, ushering Connor closer to Hank. “Ronan’s transfer is next. We have to leave Markus for last since he’s the eldest of the RK units and has more complicated programming.” A pause and Chloe sighs again, heavier this time. “All this commotion and I didn’t even think to contact Gavin.”

“He’s not making it within fifty feet of the gates before they shoot him down.” Hank snorts. “Send him a message but I’ll take Ronan with me and drop him off.”

“He’s an Anderson too.” Connor’s little voice pipes up and Hank’s heart does a Thing.

“Yeah kiddo, he is.”

“So he has to stay with us.” His frown looks more like a pout. “He’s my brother.”

“How about we ask Ronan what he wants to do, hm?” Hank suggests, and it seems to please the boy for now.

“Okay.” 

“Okay, come on.” Hank stands up and offers him his hand. Connor slips his hand into his and the world lurches for a moment and the carefully packed box of memories and grief is upended, spilling back into his life. It’s okay, Hank tells himself, this is fine. It’ll be fine.

* * *

When North takes a seat beside him, occupying the space Hank vacated, Leo doesn’t know whether to play it cool or just fucking book it.

“So.”

“Hi?”

“Chloe said they’re transferring Markus last.”

“Yeah, something about him being older and not the upload-y type like Connor and Ronan.” Leo scratches the back of his nape. “More complicated.”

“We don’t talk much, you and I.”

“Uh, yeah.” He darts her a nervous glance. “I mean, I’ve seen you around. I’ve been to Jericho a few times now and dad’s place is like, Jericho’s alternate base when you guys need to plot to overthrow the government or some shit.”

She’s mulling over something, trying to put something into words and having trouble choosing the right ones. He knows what that feels like.

“All I know about you I got from Markus’ memories, and after I met you, we only really interacted a few times since then.” She says slowly, testing the words out. “So yeah, I really don’t know you at all.”

She’s trying to apologise and Leo’s stunned at the realisation. He nods to encourage her to continue.

“Simon worships the ground Markus walks on, and that old man thinks Markus is a saint so…”

“So it’s only logical to accuse the asshole who shoved him around and took his anger out on him.” Leo sighs. “Yeah I get it.”

“I really don’t know you, but that needs to change.” She presses her mouth into a hard line. “You’re his family. Human or not. I’m sorry, Leo.”

“Listen, I’m still gonna make mistakes, I’m still gonna fuck up.” He bares his palms in surrender. “Unfortunate mess of being human. Hold me accountable when I do, North. Just know that I’d really rather die than hurt him or Simon.”

A great weight seems to lift from her shoulders and she slumps in her chair, melting against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

“Besides, you’re a stringbean, there’s no way you can take on a deviant.” Her humor is dry and he loves it. “Simon also has Terminator’s combat programming, did you know that?”

“I also know I’m not smart enough to change coding on a blog let alone write a virus.” Leo rolls his eyes. 

“What, sleeping with Kamski hasn’t taught you any fancy tech stuff?” 

“I didn't know the ability to code is something I can swallow.”

She bursts out laughing and he grins in triumph and the shitty situation feels a little less shitty now.

* * *

There’s something missing but he doesn’t know what. It’s like there’s a big fuzzy black spot in his head where That Thing should be but isn’t. Ronan frowns and rubs his eyes and he feels a bit sore and a bit cold and a teeny tiny bit scared. But only a teeny tiny bit.

“Hey sweetheart, here let me help you up.” Warm, gentle hands help him into a sitting position and Ronan blinks at Chloe curiously.

“Ms Chloe?”

“That’s right, darling.” She brushes his hair away from his face before easing an alarmingly small coat over his arms. “Here, let’s get you warmed up.”

“I am at Jericho?” He frowns as he takes in his surroundings. “Did something happen?”

“Yes. But you needn’t worry about that right now, we’re taking care of everything.” Chloe reassures him, leaning in to press her lips to his forehead. She smells of honey and flowers. “Hold onto my shoulders.” He does as he’s bid, and she lifts him off the table and back onto his feet. “Do you know who those two are?” She points at a little boy and an older man, a YK500 and a human, and the black fuzzy spot in his head pulses a bit. He nods and he has some of the puzzle pieces but not all of them.

“That’s Connor and Hank.”

“That’s right.” She rubs his back reassuringly and shepherds him over to them. Connor smiles brightly and reaches for his hand. 

“Hi!”

“Hello Connor.”

“Oh he still has the accent.” Hank chuckles, reaching out to muss his hair. 

“They’ll retain their personalities, we made sure to carry that over in its entirety. It’s the most critical part of their individuality.” Chloe explains, hand still gently rubbing his back soothingly. “Alright Ronan, I’ll leave you with your brother now okay?”

“Yes Ms Chloe.” They leave the room and he holds onto Connor’s hand tightly.

“Ohhhh my god that’s them?” Someone gasps, and she has red hair and he knows her name is North. “Holyshit! Wow they even look like them!”

“Hey, language!” Hank chides, gesturing at the two of them. “Kids!”

“Calm down old man I’m sure they’re clever enough to know swear words, right?” North grins, crouching down in front of them. “You know what those are, right?”

“I know what expletives are, yes.” Ronan nods and there’s a human who snorts back a laugh; Leo Manfred, older brother of Markus Manfred and human son of Carl Manfred.

“He’s like a tiny Harry Potter.”

“What’s an example of an expletive, Ronan?” North coaxes.

“Fuck.” He recites faithfully, and the two shriek with laughter as Hank groans.

“Alright alright, let’s get out of here.”

Leaving shouldn’t take so long but somehow it does. Somehow it feels like he’s been walking forever before they’re out of the Med Bay and in the clothing section of the supply warehouse. Androids are staring at them, have been staring at them, but he supposes humans are a rare sight in Jericho so the staring is warranted.

“Oh noooo, is that Connor? And Ronan?” An android with blue hair exclaims, and she’s bending down and picking up Connor to cuddle him. “Hi sweetheart!”

“Wow they fit all that into this?” An android with short red hair whistles low, impressed as she pats the top of his head. “Tiny killer. Love it.”

“North told us to expect them but it’s different seeing them in person!” The blue one laughs, nosing Connor’s hair. “Blaire they’re so cute!”

“Alright ladies, I can’t let you keep them.” Hank chuckles. “Let me get them some spare clothes and take them home.”

“Okay buddy come on.” The one named Blaire offers him her hand, and Ronan clasps it securely as she leads him towards the racks of children’s clothing. The blue one carries Connor the entire way, playing with his curly hair. They’re not familiar to him, but they seem familiar to Connor and Hank. Clothing is selected and neatly folded into a carry bag which Hank holds. He lets them choose the colours, and Ronan chooses blacks and whites, and Connor likes blues and greys. Hank chooses a few different pieces for them, some plain browns and some patterns. At some point an android Ronan does recognise, Josh of the Jericho Four, comes over to hand Hank another bag this time full of android supplies. 

“Simon’s packed some thirium pouches, the smaller kind that YK500s drink. They can consume human beverages too. Food’s a bit more complicated so best to just give that a miss since this is a temporary solution.” Josh instructs. “There’s a tablet inside with the basic care manual, but give us a call if you run into any trouble.”

“Thanks Josh.” Hank nods. Josh smiles at them.

“Be good for Hank, alright?” 

“Yes Josh.” They chorus obediently. Hank picks up a bag in each hand. 

“Okay, hold hands with your brother and let’s head to the car.” 

* * *

“We didn’t make him for this.” Elijah huffs tiredly, bumping his glasses up so he can pinch the bridge of his nose. “Porting him is going to be fiddly.”

“Active backup uploads aren’t in his repertoire but we’ll make it work, we always do.” Chloe rests her palm on Markus’ cheek. “It just means we use a YK500 on the older end of the spectrum so more of him can be transferred.”

“I’ll keep them safe if the virus spreads.” Amanda reassures softly, smile gentle as she looks at the bodies. 

“I hope it won’t come to that.” Elijah shakes his head. “But it might.”

“He’ll keep more of his cognitive functions than the other two, since his programming doesn’t allow for remote backups.” Chloe opens the hatch in the back of his head. “We’ll have to sacrifice most of his autonomous programming though.”

“Good thing his partner is a domestic.” Amanda quips. “Best for him to be kept out of the public eye and cared for.”

When Markus wakes, he feels like he’s thrumming with too much energy, every nerve tense and spine coiled ready to pounce. His head is pounding and his eyes feel sensitive to the bright lights bearing down on him. 

“Careful, little love.” Someone coos, gently helping him to sit up. He winces, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, Ms Chloe. Hello.” 

“Hello Markus.” She cups his face, thumb rubbing the curve of his cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Not well.” He frowns, looking at his hands. “I feel funny.”

“It’ll wear off soon, don’t worry.” Securing her hands under his arms, she carefully sets him down on his feet before easing a coat over his arms. “Do you know where you are?”

“Jericho, Med Bay.” He answers confidently. 

“What is Jericho?”

“Our hard-won freedom.”

“Do you recognise those people?” She points at a window where there are people waiting on the other side. Markus feels himself smile happily.

“That’s Simon. And Leo. And the woman is North.” 

“Very good.” Chloe beams, bending to hug him. “Come on, Simon and Leo will take you home.”

Markus holds her hand as she leads him out of the room, and Simon immediately crouches down to embrace him.

“Aw he’s kinda cute.” North laughs, patting his tight textured curls. 

“He’s very _ very _ cute.” Simon corrects, squeezing him close. Markus closes his eyes and rests his cheek on Simon’s shoulder. He feels familiar and beloved, even if Markus can’t quite pin why.

“Man I really do feel like the older brother, ugh.” Leo flashes him a self-conscious grin. “Come on, we better head home. Dad’s probably super stressed about you.”

“Head over to supplies, Josh will have something ready for you.” Chloe points towards the exit. “And call Eli if anything happens, okay?”

“I will.” Leo nods. He offers his hand to him, so Markus holds Simon’s hand with one, and Leo’s with the other. There’s something he can’t figure out, a big missing puzzle piece that’s a bit sore to poke at so Markus doesn’t focus on it. People stare at them when they leave the Med Bay and he figures that it’ll take them some time to get used to seeing Leo come and go, but they know he’s welcome since he’s Markus’ brother.

“There’s our little champion.” Josh grins when he spots them enter the supply warehouse. “How are you feeling, Markus?”

“A bit better.” He answers truthfully. “My head’s a bit sore though.”

“It’s okay sweetheart, it’ll fade.” Simon soothes, rubbing his head comfortingly. “Leo, please grab him some clothes, and I’ll grab the android supplies.”

“Sure.”

“Can I help?” Markus asks, looking between them.

“Come pick clothes with me?” Leo suggests, and Markus trails after him. There’s several racks of children’s clothing, and Markus starts to rifle through the options. He likes the soft warm knits best, and he chooses a muted Autumnal palette. 

“You’re still fashionable even when you’re nine, of course you are.” His brother snorts back a laugh. “Love it.”

“The colours work well with my skin.” Markus frowns defensively, and Leo pats his head.

“I’m not saying they don’t. It’s just, I dunno. It’s cute. You’re still you.”

“Why wouldn’t I be me?” He blinks up at him curiously and Leo falters.

“Uhh- nevermind. I think this is enough, let’s head back to Simon.”

Diligently holding his delegated clothing pile, Markus follows Leo back across the warehouse. The garments are deposited into a duffel bag, which Leo carries, and his other hand is offered to Markus again. Before he takes it, Markus waves goodbye to Josh because it’s the polite thing to do. Josh waves back with a smile, and Markus knows it’s okay for both his hands to be held now.

Leo lets him have the window seat in the taxi on the ride home, and Markus watches Detroit rush passed. There’s a pretty flurry falling gently all around, and Markus gazes in wonder. The trees that line the streets are bowed with snow, white contrasting sharply against dark bare branches. It’s January but Christmas decor still lingers in a few houses here and there, remnants of the holiday cheer. The sun is starting to slide down towards the horizon, and drags with it the temperature. Markus leans away from the window and scoots closer to Leo instead, who tucks an arm around him after a moment.

“Cold?”

“A little.” Markus murmurs, and he’s tired in a way he knows he shouldn’t be but is. 

“It’s ok, we’re almost home.” Leo reassures kindly, and he nods and decides to close his eyes just for a moment.

* * *

The entire precinct grinds to a halt in an almost comical way. It’s like someone hits the pause button along with the mute button, because everyone freezes mid-action and mid-word when Hank ushers two young boys through the security gates. 

“...Hank?” Jeffrey’s voice is fifty percent exasperated, fifty percent curious.

“It’s a temporary fix.” He ushers the boys to their respective desks. “The Kamskis are at Jericho working on curing whatever the hell’s wrong with them, but they’re stuck like this for now.”

“Come inside, I want to know whatever you’ve figured out so far.” Jeffrey beckons him towards his office. Hank nods, before glancing over at Connor and Ronan as they clamber onto their seats. 

“I’ll be back in a sec, boys. Just sit tight.”

“Okay.” They answer in unison. Satisfied, Hank follows his boss into his office and closes the door behind him. 

“They were poisoned.” He plonks down on the chair heavily, the fatigue he’d been keeping at bay taking the opportunity to place the ache back in his bones. “Whether it specifically targeted the RK units- Markus, Connor and Ronan, or if it’s a widespread thing that’s just about to blow up, we don’t know for sure. Jericho’s lab are analysing the drinks.”

“It’s a crime either way, and that means it’s now an ongoing investigation and that also means you’re mostly off the case.” 

There’s a beat of silence between them, and a tiny part of Hank considers fighting it but the fatigue wins. “Well someone has to look after the boys while they’re vulnerable like this and it sure as hell won’t be Reed.”

“I’ll have Chen lead the investigation with Reed now she’s made Detective.” Jeffrey says slowly, as if he can’t believe Hank’s agreeing with him. “But you can remain as the Jericho liaison since those two won’t be allowed to set foot in that place.”

“Chen might make it to the gates but they’ll shoot Reed long before that.” Hank snorts, shaking his head. “Fine, I’ll play the middle man now that Robo-Jesus is also about eight years old.”

“Hank…” He gives him a look, and it’s not the I Am Your Boss kind of look that Hank’s used to. “Will you be alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Because they look about the same age.” _ As Cole _, he doesn’t say but he doesn’t need to say it because Hank already knows.

“I’ll be okay.” He looks over to their desks to where Connor has been placed on Stephanie’s lap, playing with his coin and Ronan is sitting primply with his hands folded in his lap as Tina leans on his desk. “We’ll be okay.”

Jeffrey comes around the desk and gently clasps his shoulder. “If you need a hand, a night off, or even just a few hours you know you can ask me. Sara won’t mind having them, and Mabel and Kendrick would love some new playmates.”

It’s a bit much, a bit awkward but Hank knows it’s coming from a good place because Jeffrey’s always had his back, always, especially when Hank was at his very lowest. 

“Thanks Jeffrey.”

“Alright alright, now get those boys out of here.” His voice is a bit gruff, a bit put on and Hank’s grateful for it. “Precinct’s no playground.”

“Got it.”

“Reed is going to flip his shit.” 

“Language!” Stephanie chides as she coos over Connor, the boy content to sit on her lap and fiddle with a liberty quarter. 

“Hey Ronan, say ‘may I have a glass of water for the table please?’.” Tina prompts, and Ronan blinks owlishly at her.

“May I have a glass of water for the table please?” 

“Ohhh my god, his accent sounds so much cuter!” She laughs brightly. “Are you guys still super detectives?”

“Detectives?” Connor echoes as Ronan frowns. “We can’t have any occupations we’re just children.”

“Tina.” There’s a warning in Stephanie’s tone and she takes it as her cue to shut up. 

“Right right, sorry.” Her smile is apologetic as she pats Ronan’s head. “So are you gonna be staying with Reed?”

“I think so? I live there don’t I?” Ronan tips his head. “It would make sense.”

“But you’re my brother, you should be staying with me and dad!” Connor pouts. 

“How about Ronan stays with Detective Reed tonight, see how it goes, and if he doesn’t like it he can stay with you and Lieutenant Anderson?” Stephanie suggests, and Connor gives it some serious thought.

“That sounds okay to try I guess…” He concedes, pout still firmly in place. 

“You boys ready to go?” Hank reappears from Fowler’s office, and Stephanie gently pops Connor back on his feet.

“Yes Hank.” He nods, hand reaching for his and the other offered to Ronan. “Come on Ronan.”

“Coming!” 

Tina grabs her phone and snaps a photo of Hank leaving the precinct with two ducklings in tow and sends it to Reed. 

[_ Smols incoming! _]

“Reed’s absolutely going to flip his shit.” 

A few months ago the robot revolution was about the damn strangest thing to happen to him, and then a bit after that, being bullied into taking in a robot housemate was about the damn strangest thing to happen to him, and _ now _-

“You’re tellin’ me they crammed Terminator into _ that _.”

“Yes.” Hank’s expression is dead serious and Gavin’s about eighty percent sure this isn’t a joke. It’s a lot of effort for a joke.

“He went to ballet class with Barbie full sized and now he’s come back as a mini.”

“Yes.” Hank nods. 

“...Right.” He takes a deep breath and looks at the kid. “Right.”

“It’s only temporary, until your cousin and CEO Barbie figure out what’s wrong.” He’s not sure if that’s meant to be reassuring. “Fowler’s put you and Chen on the case.”

“Not you?”

“I’ll be the Jericho liaison because they’ll shoot you dead if you try to get close.”

“...Thanks?”

“Okay listen, here’s a bag of supplies and a tablet with the care manual.” Hank hands him a kid’s backpack. “He’ll have a routine to follow. Any trouble, you call Kamski. I doubt he’s going to be sleeping. At any point, actually.”

“Morning briefing tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Fowler will give you two the case. I’ll be there to give you any updates and details.” He crouches down and holds the kid by the shoulders. “Ronan, you give me a call if you change your mind ok? Doesn’t matter when, I’ll come pick you up if you want to stay with Connor.”

“Yes Lieu- Hank.” 

“Sleep tight kiddo.” He musses his hair and ushers him through the door before he straightens up. “Take care of him Gavin, I mean it. I’ll see you at the briefing.”

It’s not that he’s _ bad _ with kids it’s just that he’s never really had to interact with them for an extended period of time. He’s held Chris’ newborn son, he’s cajoled lost kids brought to the station, and yeah, kicked under the proverbial bed are feelings from all the times he interacted with little Cole Anderson. He doesn’t _ mind _ kids he’s just not the parental kind and now there’s a kid in his apartment and he’s meant to look after him.

“You’re still Ronan though, right?” Gavin asks warily as the boy climbs up onto the couch. The Void materialises from the rug and pads over curiously, sniffing him before deciding he’s not a threat and forming a loaf on his lap. 

“I am Ronan, yes.” The boy nods, small smile on his face as he strokes the black cat with careful hands. 

“You’re just mini Ronan for now.” 

“I am a YK500, yes.” There’s a tinge of confusion in the boy’s tone. 

“...okay, well. We have a morning briefing tomorrow. I’ll put your bag in your room. Your usual android supplies are in the pantry.” Gavin jerks a thumb behind him towards the kitchen. “After I finish dinner I’m crashing in my room so just uh, do whatever and head to bed.”

“Okay.” 

The Void is a warm soft presence on his lap, and her purring a strong vibration he can feel against him. Gavin goes through the routine he stated aloud; he finishes eating dinner leaning against the counter, washes up, and heads off to his bedroom and closes the door. Ronan sets his own evening objectives: check fluid levels, consume fluids if needed, go to bedroom, change into pyjamas, go to sleep, wake up at seven. It is not a complicated list, but somehow everything feels just a little more complicated to execute than he’s used to. Everything is bigger and farther and requires more effort. 

He’s tired. It’s not a feeling he’s used to, but it feels like he’s functioning at fifty percent with energy levels steadily depleting. His fluid levels are fine, so he ticks that objective as completed and moves on. The Void is unhappy when he shifts her off his lap, but she follows him as he heads to his room. The bag of supplies is on the end of his bed, and he opens it up. There are soft flannel pyjamas with little aeroplanes on them, and he changes into them all by himself, even manages to do up all the buttons. The bed seems gargantuan now, even though it shouldn’t. The Void settles on his other pillow as he curls up beneath the heavy covers. It’s a little scary, being alone in this big room in this big bed but he’s not really alone when he thinks about it because the cat is here. It’s a comforting discovery. Ronan closes his eyes.

* * *

Markus stirs awake as he’s jostled slightly and he curls closer to the source of warmth. It takes him a moment to realise he’s being carried inside, and Markus squirms a little to settle into a more comfortable position.

“Shhh.” Someone hushes, pressing a kiss into his hair. “Shhh it’s alright. Go back to sleep.” 

There’s a rush of warm air as his surroundings change, and he thinks he hears a ‘welcome home, Leo’ and a ‘careful, this way’. 

He’s being lowered into a bed and he whines softly as his source of warmth pulls away.

“I’ll be back in a moment Markus, hush.” Someone chuckles, lips warm on his brow. Jacket and shoes are tugged off, and covers are tucked up to his chin. He’s so tired and he can’t figure out why and he doesn’t really want to, if he’s being honest. Markus closes his eyes. 

* * *

The large dog is a little confused when he follows Hank inside the house. Connor knows his name is Sumo and that he’s a Saint Bernard and he belongs to Hank. The dog circles him, sniffing his clothes, his hands, and after a moment it sits at attention in front of him and Connor takes that as a signal he’s gained the dog’s approval. 

“Hi Sumo.” Connor leans forward and wraps his arms around him, burying his face in his thick soft fur. The dog chuffs, nosing his neck and giving his cheek a lick. It feels funny, and Connor laughs at the sensation. 

“You need anything to drink while I make dinner?” Hank asks, giving Sumo’s head a fond pat before looking at him. 

“No, I’m okay.” Connor answers, burying his face in Sumo’s fur again.

“Alright, I’ll just be in the kitchen.”

Sumo eases down onto the carpet and flops over, inviting Connor to cuddle or at least that’s what he thinks that particular display means. Sumo doesn’t protest, anyway, when Connor does exactly that. He lays on the floor with the dog and uses him like a big pillow and listens to Sumo’s deep breaths. The dog is warm and soft and soothing and Connor didn’t think he was very tired but actually he is. The television is on low, he can hear Hank pottering around the kitchen, and Sumo’s breathing is as rhythmic as his heartbeat. Connor closes his eyes.

Dinner is some passable kind of stir fry that Hank doesn’t really pay attention to how it tastes in favour of eating it as quickly as he can manage. Sometimes he envies that androids run on blue gatorade and don’t need rest or food the way pesky human bodies do. Except, for however long it takes the Kamskis, Connor’s going to be just like him for a while. Simon told him YK500s simulated children closely: sensitive to the temperature and needing sleep to recharge and needing to drink in the same way humans need to eat food. 

He shoves the dishes in the dishwasher and wipes his hands on the tea towel and goes to check on Connor and he doesn’t see Connor for a moment he sees Cole even though he looks nothing like Cole. It’s in the way Connor is fast asleep on Sumo, using the dog as an oversized pillow, and the way the dog trusts in him completely. The box he’d carefully packed with memories and grief has been well and truly emptied back into his life and his chest aches painfully as he’s reminded of all he’s lost. Sumo raises his head and whines at him softly, his therapy animal training picking up on his distress.

“I’m okay, Sumo.” He lies, and the dog knows it, whining softly again. He’s torn between staying still and allowing the boy to sleep, and getting up to comfort his owner. It manages to coax a smile from Hank as he crouches down in front of them and gives Sumo a comforting pat. “I’m okay.” He says again, and believes it even less this time. Scooping up Connor in his arms causes his chest to squeeze painfully again, as the boy is a similar weight in his arms as the one he carried two years ago.

He squirms a little at the disturbance and Hank hushes him, rubbing his back soothingly as he carries him to his room. He knows he won’t be able to coax him into pyjamas so Hank settles on removing his coat and shoes before tucking him in. Connor is swamped by the sheets, the bed now far too big for so small a child. The sight of him, his curly nest of hair, his rosy cheeks- Hank takes a deep breath to steady himself. It’s fine. He’s fine. This is just a different set of circumstances, and they’ll get through them together because it’s what needs to be done. Because it’s what’s best for Connor, and Hank would do anything for the kid if he’s being honest with himself. Hank runs a hand through those brown curls and the boy sighs softly, curling on his side and settling into a more comfortable position. Sumo noses the door open, padding passed Hank and jumping onto the bed, sprawling beside Connor.

“You look after him, old boy.” He instructs, giving his head a pat. “Goodnight.” 


	4. The Andersons

At seven o’clock, he opens his eyes and sits up. Objective completed. His fluid levels are slightly low, so he must drink to replenish his levels. Objective set. 

Ronan looks over and very gently pats The Void, who gives a sleepy little trill as she awakens and yawns wide, displaying all her sharp little teeth before opening near comically owlish yellow eyes. She watches him gingerly slide off the bed before padding atop the quilts over to his backpack. He pulls out one of the small YK500 nutrition pouches, a gel blend of thirium, suspension fluid, and lubricant. There is a straw, and he carefully pokes it through the little designated circle at the top of the pouch. It is coded to taste like peaches. Once the pouch is empty he places it into the little bin beneath his desk. Objective completed. Now he must get ready to accompany Detective Reed. Objective set.

Choosing a warm black turtleneck and a light blue jacket, Ronan dresses himself in front of the very very large mirror and makes sure he looks neat and tidy. The Void hops off the bed and sits near his left leg, looking up at him as if making sure he achieves his objective. Satisfied he looks neat and tidy, Ronan opens the door and wanders to the kitchen to find Detective Reed leaning on the breakfast counter sleepily stirring sugar in his coffee. The smell of toasting bread is in the air.

“Hey squirt.”

“Good morning Detective Reed.”

“Do you need to eat breakfast?”

“No I have already replenished my fluids.” Ronan answers dutifully.

“Right.” Detective Reed yawns before taking a sip from his coffee mug. “I’m heading to Starbucks before we go to the precinct.”

“Is that coffee insufficient for you?” Ronan tips his head.

“This is coffee, but I want a confection. You don’t go to Starbucks for coffee, kid. You go for the sugar.” He snorts, shaking his head before plucking the finished toast as it pops out of the toaster. “You ready to go?”

“Yessir.” He nods. 

“Go uh, sit on the couch. I’ll cram this down and we can head off soon.”

“Yessir.”

He sits in the front seat of Detective Reed’s car and looks out the window as they leave the apartment complex. It’s starting to lighten up outside, the sun finally starting to fill the city and banish the dark of night. It snowed all last night and everything is buried under a blanket of white. Ronan thinks it’s very pretty.

“Come on.” Detective Reed jerks his head as he parks the car at Starbucks. Ronan unclasps his seatbelt and opens the door, shoes crunching in the snow as he hurries after him. A blast of warm air hits him as they enter the cafe, and he sticks close to Detective Reed’s side as the man joins the queue for the counter. 

“Aww Reed who’s this little guy?” The barista grins down at him. “D’you want a hot chocolate? Hot milk?”

“No thank you, I’ve had my breakfast.” Ronan answers, and the barista laughs delightedly. 

“I’m just stuck with him for a while.” Detective Reed rolls his eyes. “I’ll get the usual but make it a venti. Fuckin’ briefing at work this morning.”

“Hey, language!” They chide, and Ronan’s not sure why. He knows what expletives are and how they’re used for extra emphasis. They wait at the other end of the counter for Detective Reed’s coffee, and once acquired, they head back to the car. 

“Ah shit!” He curses just as he’s about to unlock the vehicle. “Fuck! I left it on the- ah shit.” Turning to him, he points down the road. “Ok listen I have to go home and grab something. Precinct’s that way, you might as well head over while I go back.”

“You want me to walk to Central Station?” Ronan blinks, frowning as he sets the objective. 

“It’s like ten minutes walk that way, c’mon, we’ve done this a million times now.” Detective Reed unlocks the car and gets into the driver’s seat. “Tell the Captain I’ll be right there. I won’t be long.” He shuts the door and backs out of the customer parking bay and Ronan is alone.

He knows where Detroit City Police Central Station is: 1301 3rd Avenue, Detroit. It is, on average, about a ten minute walk from his current location. It is not a difficult objective to complete only Ronan’s unsure why Detective Reed said they’d done it a million times now which can’t be possible because Ronan doesn’t remember ever coming here. Well. He can do this. Calculating the route isn’t so hard when he puts in the starting location as the Starbucks address and the destination as Central Station. Ten minutes walk and then he will have achieved his objection. It’s not so hard! Is it? He feels his stress levels starting to rise and he doesn’t know why because there shouldn’t be anything to stress him out. 

More and more citizens are out and about; there’s a lot of people and some of them are looking at him as he walks down the street. Down this street and then turn left at the end. Easy. Only...it’s not? And he doesn’t know why it should be easy but isn’t. He clenches his hands and it feels wrong not to have Connor to hold onto, or even Hank. It feels lonely and scary and Detective Reed isn’t here and there’s no one he knows and there’s no one to hold onto and-! His face is wet and he can’t breathe properly and his stress levels are climbing higher and higher and he wants Connor! He wants Connor to hold his hand! Or Hank! Everything is too loud and big and scary and Ronan hates it, he hates it he wants to be inside with The Void and his aeroplane pyjamas that are soft and warm and he doesn’t want to be out here alone!

“Hey are you okay?” A woman asks him gently and Ronan looks up at her and can’t see her face properly because his eyes are wet. “Oh sweetheart, where are your parents?”

“C-c-” he hiccups and tries again. “Central Station!”

“Central-” she pauses, then nods. “The police station! Did your parents teach you that for when you get lost? What a clever boy you are.” She’s dressed like a businesswoman with a long coat, and she removes her scarf to wrap it around his neck. “Come on, I’ll take you there.”

It doesn’t feel like ten minutes, it doesn’t feel easy, it feels so long and horrible and Ronan cries and rubs his eyes and tries not to be so loud because a nice lady is going out of her way to help him complete a stupidly simple objective. She coos at him sympathetically, squeezing his hand and rubbing it with her thumb and reassuring him that it’s alright, it’s just up ahead. 

* * *

Hank scratches his beard and glances at his phone again. Reed’s late. At least he had the good grace to tell someone he’s running late, so Hank can’t really fault him for that. He glances over to where Connor is sitting in his usual chair, sipping on one of those android caprisuns. He let him choose what he wanted to wear today, and the boy chose a white turtleneck with a denim jacket lined in shearling. He even tied one set of shoelaces all by himself after Hank tied the other one. Hank manages to resist reaching over to muss his curls, but only just.

“Sorry, sorry! Forgot my fucking badge on the counter.” Reed announces as he hurries through the security gates, coffee in hand. “Figured I’d need it if we’re questioning people.” 

“Alright, come on.” Jeffrey waves them over. “About time.”

“Where’s Ronan?” Hank looks behind him, expecting to see the boy toddle in like a duckling. 

“Oh, he’s not here yet?” Reed looks at his desk. “Huh.”

“...Why would he be here?” Hank asks slowly, and a nauseous wave roils in his stomach as Reed shrugs. 

“Because I sent him here?” Reed answers matter of factly. “Precinct’s what, a ten minute walk from Starbucks? I thought it’d be better if he headed here while I doubled back.”

There’s an uncomfortable beat of silence and Hank’s own face of horror is mirrored by everyone else in the bullpen. 

“You left a fucking _child_-”

“Reed why the _ fuck- _”

“Gavin he’s _ six- _”

Everyone erupts all at once and Hank reaches him first, and Reed’s lucky he put his coffee down a second before Hank grabs him by the lapels and gives him a violent shake.

“I’m going to fucking skin you alive Gavin Reed, you absolutely fucking fuckwit!” He bellows, and the murder must be in his eyes because Reed looks like he’s about to turn tail and bolt.

“Why are you making a big deal over this he’s a fucking android!”

“He’s_ a six year old _ android!” Hank yells, shaking him again. “You left him on the street! All by himself! Would you leave a child out on their own in public?!”

“But he’s an android why couldn’t he have made it back on his own?!”

“Because he’s_ a six year old _android!” Hank slams him against one of the boards, pure rage in his veins. “You better get the fuck out of this office and find that boy or so help me god Gavin Reed I will end you!”

“Lieutenant, if I may.” It’s Beth, one of the android receptionists. She waves him over. “A kind citizen just dropped Ronan off. He’s with Stephanie right now.”

He drops Gavin and rushes to reception, and there’s Stephanie crouched under her desk comforting a crying Ronan and Hank’s anger vanishes in an instant. He shrugs off his jacket and drops to one knee to wrap it around Ronan, gathering the boy into his arms.

“I didn’t complete my objective! I couldn’t do it!” The boy cries into his shoulder, little body wracked with sobs. “I’m meant to do it by myself!”

“It’s okay kiddo, no one’s mad, no one’s mad I promise.” Hank hushes him, rubbing his back as he squeezes him close. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

“I didn’t accomplish my mission!” Ronan hiccups, clinging to Hank like a lifeline and Hank makes a mental note to skin Gavin with a butterknife later. “Detective Reed told me-”

“Detective Reed is a-” deep breath, sharp inhale. “-unused to caring for YK500s. He gave you a mission meant for older androids, not little children.”

“But it was easy, he said-”

“It doesn’t matter what he said.” Hank spits, and the boy stiffens in his hold. He sighs heavily and presses a kiss into his hair before he can stop himself. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re here, and you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry.” Ronan mumbles, and Hank pulls away just far enough he can look him in the eyes.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Ronan, do you understand?” He wipes the boy’s tears away with his thumb. “You’ve done nothing wrong, absolutely nothing.”

Swallowing thickly, the boy sniffles back the last of his tears and manages a nod. He rubs his eyes before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Hank’s neck again. 

“There there, I’ve got you kiddo.” He soothes, standing up and simply carrying him into the bullpen. He avoids looking at Reed because he knows the moment he lays eyes on him he’ll fly into a fit of rage and murder may be committed. “I have to go and talk to Captain Fowler and do some work, but Connor will be right here with you.”

He glances over and Tina quickly wheels Ronan’s chair over to Connor’s desk, and Hank gently lowers the boy to sit. Reluctantly untangling his hold on him, Hank smoothes the boy’s hair back and thumbs away the last of his errant tears.

“Connor, you’ll look after your brother won’t you?”

“Yes Hank!” Connor nods eagerly, already reaching across to hold his hand. Ronan’s lower lip trembles for a moment, before he steels himself and squeezes Connor’s hand. “Ronan, you must replenish your fluids! Here, have one of mine.” With his other hand, Connor plucks out another pouch from his backpack propped on his desk. “I’m going to let go so I can put the straw in, okay?”

“Okay.” Ronan sniffles as he nods, and Connor pokes the straw into the pouch before offering it to his brother. 

“Here you go.” Ronan takes it with one hand and seeks Connor’s hand with his other, big grey eyes still glassy with barely restrained tears. Leaning over, Hank gives them both a kiss to the crown of their heads, nosey colleagues be damned before following Tina into Fowler’s office.

“I really didn’t know.” Reed mumbles contritely, darting Hank a nervous glance. “I legit thought he was still Terminator but just mini.”

“Gavin-” Tina sighs, exasperated.

“I know, I know!” He snaps, arms crossed over his chest defensively. “I got it, I’ll-”

“You’ll fucking _ nothing _, Reed. He’ll stay with me now.” Hank hisses, trying not to let the rage boil up again. 

“Okay!” Reed squeaks comically fast. “Sorry!”

“You’ll apologise to his face after this, it’s the least you can fucking do for leaving him to fend for himself on the sidewalk!”

“Alright alright!” Jeffrey interjects, raising his voice. Sighing heavily, he taps his tablet and the board populates with notes. “We got an email from Jericho this morning containing all the findings compiled so far. Their lab confirms the teariums were poisoned with a viral code, not a physical contaminant. They’ll be attempting to decrypt the code today but warned it could take them hours as it needs to be done safely in case it infects them.”

“So the tea has code floating in it, making them what? Malfunction?” Reed frowns at the board.

“It’s making them think their entire system is contaminated, so their repair protocols are attacking themselves.” Jeffrey highlights one of the notes. 

“But if it’s a viral code, why do they need to decrypt it?” Tina stands up and scrutinises the text. “I mean, they’ve found the code, right? Don’t they just make an anti-virus patch for the firewall?”

“I have no idea what any of that means.” Jeffrey sighs tiredly. “Chloe said something about it being very complex and they can’t get to the source because it keeps mutating.”

“So like a real virus?” Hank hazards a guess. “The way you make a flu jab but the flu mutates every year and a new strain emerges that’s immune to the vaccine.”

“Something like that, yes.” He points at Tina. “You’re in charge of this one. You’re a Detective, you have the authority, and you’re a known figure of the integrated android community.”

“Yessir.” Tina nods confidently.

“You’re with her, and I’m begging you to use your head first before your mouth.” Jeffrey points his stylus at Reed who nods silently, before turning to Hank. “You take the boys and get Ronan settled until he’s comfortable, then check in with what’s happening at Jericho.”

“We’ll start by sourcing the teariums they purchased and go from there.” Tina decides, glancing at Hank. “Please update us when you can.”

“Got it.” 

They exit Fowler’s office and he heads back to his desk. The boys aren’t seated at it, but under it this time and Hank leans down to find Connor and Ronan sharing a spare holding cell blanket, patiently colouring in a picture on a tablet. Ronan’s brows are creased with concentration as he carefully colours in the sun, and Connor enthusiastically scribbles in the green grass. 

“You boys alright?” He asks, and they both look up and nod.

“Yes Hank.”

“Yes dad.”

Hank’s about ready to go into cardiac arrest from the spectrum of emotions he’s experienced and it’s not even ten in the morning. It’s going to be a very, very long day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is a dumbass disaster, no I am not taking criticisms.


	5. The Manfreds

He wakes to the sensation of fingers in his hair, and fingernails gently scritching along his scalp. When he opens his eyes he looks into beautiful blue ones that remind him of clear summer skies. 

“Good morning.” His name is Simon, and he loves him- that much Markus knows. 

“Hi Simon.” He smiles and Markus can’t help but smile too. Simon leans in and smudges a kiss to his forehead. 

“Did you sleep well?”

“I did, thank you.” He sits up and carefully eases himself off the bed, padding over to where his bag sits on a chair. Another cold January day ahead of him, so that means warm clothes to keep the chill at bay. A burgundy turtleneck, a soft brown cableknit sweater and a pair of chocolate coloured pants is what he chooses, and Markus dresses himself without any help because he’s big enough to do so. Satisfied with his reflection in the mirror, Markus nods and looks over at Simon again. The other android is watching him carefully, probably making sure he didn’t need any help or at least that’s what Markus thinks that expression on his face means.

“Let’s make breakfast for dad and Leo?” He suggests and Simon smiles again and Markus really likes it when he does.

“A great idea, yes let’s do that.”

There’s the equivalent of a human nine year old YK500 very earnestly setting the table for breakfast and Simon really isn’t sure how he feels about it all. He watches Markus very determinedly putting down plates and cutlery, ensuring everything is straight and evenly spaced.

“Hey Si, you ok?” Leo gives him a little nudge as he puts a pot of coffee on. 

“No?” Simon answers, unsure. “I mean, I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just...weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Well my partner is nine years old today.” Simon says flatly, and Leo laughs. “I’m a caretaker, Leo. I’m literally built and programmed for this- for-” he gestures vaguely over at Markus, “for taking care of children. For raising them and loving them and watching over them. My programming is going crazy right now.” A heavy sigh as he pokes at the cooking eggs. “It’d be like if Elijah suddenly turned into a child.”

“I mean-” Leo rolls his eyes, a joke ready on his tongue but he stops himself when he sees Simon’s genuinely anxious expression. “Yeah I guess that’d be weird.”

“We’re in the same bed we share but it’s a completely different set of feelings.” Simon winces, shaking his head. “He’s adorable and I want to spoil him to bits but it’s just-”

“Weird.” Leo nods understandingly. 

“I think I might sleep in the sunroom.” Another sigh, more resigned this time. “Just for the time being. I’m not sure I could share a bed with him like this.”

“The table is ready.” Markus announces proudly, and Leo shoots him a grin.

“Great, thanks. I’ll go get dad and we can all have breakfast.”

“Okay!” Markus smiles enthusiastically, rounding the table to take his place where his older self would usually sit. 

By the time Leo brings Carl down to the dining area, Markus is diligently poking a straw into a little pouch and Simon is setting out perfectly cooked bacon and eggs. 

“Smells great, thanks Simon.” Carl rasps, voice rough with sleep still. He looks over at Markus, smile tinged with amusement. “Good morning Markus.”

“G’morning dad.” Markus smiles, all sunshine bright. Simon takes a seat beside him, and gestures for everyone to start eating before taking a sip from a mug of plain thirium.

“I have to leave after breakfast for a meeting with the mayor we completely forgot about.” Simon’s smile is apologetic. “We’ve had this arranged for a month now and-” he looks over at Markus briefly, “we can’t postpone it. I have to go with Josh since North is helping out with the DPD today.” 

“I changed my therapy appointment to the earliest one, so I should be back before you.” Leo reassures him. “I’ve got nothing else on after that so I can help around the house.”

“Thanks Leo.” Simon seems to melt with relief. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“Will you be okay staying with your dad?” Simon rests his hand gently on Markus’ soft tight curls. “Leo will be home soon, it won’t be long.”

“I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” Carl chuckles, smile fond when he glances at his temporarily miniature son. “You two go do what you need to do, and Markus can keep me company in the studio.”

“I can do that!” Markus pipes up with a smile. 

The studio is the best place on earth, Markus decides. It’s huge, three out of four walls made of glass and it’s a mix of art and technology. Big machines sit on one side of the room, and canvases sit on the other. There are shelves and shelves of paints and supplies and equipment, and the floor has paint splatters like a galaxy spilled out beneath his feet. He quietly sits down at one of the benches, content to finish his little thirium pouch while watching his father start to paint. The palette he uses is made of wood, and there’s smudges and splotches of colour all over it, layers and layers of mixed paints all across a vivid spectrum. 

“You’re more than welcome to crack into those pastels, Markus.” Carl looks over from his easel and nods at the box on the benchtop. “Don’t sit still on account of me.”

“Wow thanks dad!” Markus eagerly tears off the plastic film and opens the box, gasping at the rows of colour. He decides to draw the big jar of brushes on the table that looks like a bouquet of flowers with all the little coloured brush tips. The pastels are hard to the touch but leave a soft powdery residue and Markus is delighted to work with them, scraping and scratching across the large blank paper. 

Carl’s pocket beeps, and the old man plucks out his phone from his pocket. “Oh, Markus our order at Bellini’s is ready. It’s the pure pigments we shipped in from Italy.” 

Markus looks up from his picture and blinks. He doesn’t remember ordering pigments from Italy but it sounds like an errand and he can do that!

“Okay, I can pick them up!” He carefully places the pastels back in the box before walking to his dad’s side. Carl holds out the phone and Markus reads the order number and commits it to memory. 

“You can pick up extra pastels while you’re there if you’re missing any colours.” Carl pats his head gently. “Make sure to take a coat, it’s still cold outside even if it stopped snowing.”

“Okay dad.” Markus smiles and heads back to his room. He puts on the coat Ms Chloe gave him, and leaves the house. Carl’s right- it’s still very chilly, and he’s glad the coat is lined with fuzz to keep him warm. 

He has to cross the road to catch the bus, but that’s okay because he knows how to look both ways and it’s still early in the morning so there’s only two cars he has to wait to pass before he can cross. The bus arrives and he gets on, and he finds a seat by the window so he can watch where he is going. Bellini Paints is located in Greektown, so Markus has to be careful to watch attentively and press the button just before the right stop. He knows the stop is at Henry Ford Commemorative Park and he will walk through the park to reach Greektown.

He’s big enough to run errands, he tells himself, and it’s alright to be nervous but everything will be alright. There’s a funny feeling in his chest, something like a big weight pressing down and making him uneasy. His stress levels are climbing and he’s not sure why because everything is fine, he’s a big boy and this is a simple errand. It’s just a bus ride! Only...only everything is going by very quickly and even though Markus is trying very hard to keep track of where he’s going he’s starting to doubt himself. He takes a few deep breaths and curls his hands into fists and tells himself there’s nothing to worry about and everything will be alright. He’s a big boy. This is a simple errand.

A big stretch of snow laden trees whizzes by and a big sinking feeling opens up in his belly and Markus fumbles to reach over and press the buzzer. The bus continues forward and turns left before pulling up at the next stop and Markus hurries to disembark. Henry Ford Commemorative Park is a left turn back and then straight. He thinks. Markus tries to keep his breathing steady, tries to keep his stress levels from rising as he heads back the way the bus came. He walks and walks and then realises the bus turned left, so he should’ve turned right when backtracking, so now he’s going the wrong way! Rubbing his eyes, Markus tells himself it’s a stupid reason to cry so don’t cry, just go back and get it right this time! Dad trusts him with this simple errand, it’s a simple thing for a boy to do so he must do it!

Markus really wants Simon to hold his hand again. Or Leo. He really wants his big brother to tell him everything is fine because he will believe it. Sniffling back his tears, Markus reaches the end of the street and turns right this time only he’s not even sure if this is the right street because he passed on just before this one so what if he’s got it all wrong? What if he can’t do this simple errand and Carl is disappointed in him? What if Carl is sad and it’s all his fault? Before he can help it, tears roll down his cheeks and Markus hiccups as he starts to cry because everything is bad, horrible, the worst!

* * *

Therapy sucks ass but it’s necessary: like going to the dentist and suffering hands in your mouth and gross tasting things in order to prevent full on surgery; a necessary evil to prevent an even greater evil. Leo’s chest feels sore, like his heart’s been taken to a box grater and scraped raw. But it’s a nice kind of sore, a good kind of exhausted because he does feel lighter even through the terror of opening up the mess in his head. 

[_ Alarm deactivated, welcome home Leo _]

The door swings open and he reckons he’ll never tire of hearing that greeting, that ‘welcome home’ because he hasn’t felt at home for so many years. He hangs up his jacket and beanie and heads straight for the studio, the most likely place to find his dad and his temporarily very little brother. 

“Oh, hey Leo.” Carl greets with a distracted smile, eyes roving over his canvas as he fusses over a small detail. “Welcome home.”

“Hey.” Giving a lazy wave, Leo looks around for Markus but fails to find the small android. There’s a drawing on one of the benchtops though, a pastel sketch of a jar of brushes. “Did he draw this? It’s great, look at the colours!” 

“Yes, he seemed to really be enjoying the medium.” Carl chuckles. “I told him to pick out any colours the box didn’t have and buy those too when he picks up our pigments order.”

“Sorry wait hold up, pigments order as in the Bellini one you guys put through last month?”

“That’s the one.” Carl nods. “The special order from Italy. It arrived this morning so Markus said he’d go bring it home.”

The world grinds to a halt and Leo thinks he’s suffering some sort of auditory hallucination. 

“Markus, as in, _ the _ Markus who’s only about this tall right now?” There’s cold dread in the pit of his stomach. “Dad are you telling me you sent a new nine year old out into Detroit to pick up some fucking paints?! Did you at least book a round trip for the cab so he could come right back?!”

“What?” Carl blinks, clearly confused. “No he took the bus-”

“You let him take the _ fucking bus _ ?!” The anger explodes from him, nothing but seething rage and disbelief. “He’s fucking _ nine years old _!”

“Leo what are you talking about?” Carl’s voice turns defensive despite his confused expression. “He’s an incredibly capable android, he’s been going to Bellini’s for years now!”

“Except that right now, he hasn’t!” Leo shouts, and there’s fear now, real fear mixed with his fury. “He’s literally a _ kid _, he’s not the fancy android from yesterday, he’s all of nine years old and you fucking let him loose in a city he can’t remember!”

There’s an uncomfortable pause, and the shift in Carl’s expression from confusion to outright horror would have amused Leo at any other time. 

“You’re absolutely _ un-fucking-believable _ , thank _ fuck _ you didn’t get to raise me!” There’s regret like a bad aftertaste in the back of his mouth the moment he says it but the fear wins over the anger and he’s running back into the foyer and grabbing his coat and beanie and ordering a cab. He’s not waiting around for Carl’s guilt, he doesn’t want it. 

The cab barely rolls to a stop before Leo scrambles inside it, and he’s not a fancy android so he can’t do that hacking thing where they make the car go faster than it’s programmed to so he just has to wait and drown in his steadily rising anxiety because somewhere in the city is his baby brother most likely terrified and trying to put on a brave face because their father told him to do something and the mere thought of disappointing a parent is enough to override any child’s budding rationality. On impulse he pulls out his phone and hits call.

“Leo?” The voice that answers is rough and scratchy with fatigue.

“Do YK500s have trackers?” A pause on the other end of the line, and Leo can almost picture his suspicious frown.

“Did something happen?”

“Tracker- yes or no?” 

“Yes _and_ no.” Elijah sucks in a breath and sighs, and Leo knows he’s rubbing his sore eyes. “Yes, YK500s have trackers registered to their parents, no in the sense the RK YK500s do not have trackers since they were essentially frankensteined from deactivated models.” 

“Well my dad did something fucking stupid and sent Markus out to the city in a fucking bus and I have no idea where he is or how to find him!” Leo spits, the anger like molten lava in his veins. “He could be anywhere, what if he got off at the wrong stop? Or some creepy fucker kidnapped him?!”

There’s a longer pause on the other end of the line, and Leo knows there’s a lot going on in that genius head of his. 

“While Connor and Ronan can no longer do it, we still have the Lieutenant as our DPD connection and there’s at least one deviant receptionist ST300 we can ask.” Elijah says distractedly, no doubt relaying this conversation to someone nearby. “We can access the police drones and have them ping your phone with the location.”

“He’s meant to be headed for Bellini Paints in Greektown.” The hard spiky edges of anger have receded a little, and Leo slumps in his seat and closes his eyes. “I’m worried sick, fuck me.”

“It’ll be alright. We’ll find him. Chloe’s just spoken to Hank and they’re having a look already. They’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks.” He drags a hand over his face and fuck why does the day already feel so long? “I’m almost at Greektown so I’ll start looking around too.”

“Take care, Leo. I have to go, we’re about to begin decrypting the virus.” 

“I’ll let you know when I’ve found him.” Leo hangs up and pockets his phone just as the cab pulls up at the curb. Might as well start at Bellini’s, right?

The store is beautiful, enough to give pause as he takes in the shelves and shelves of pigments and the cherry wood and the soft ambient lighting. There’s an android at the counter but he lacks the stiff vacant stare of those still bound to their programming.

“Good morning.” He greets him with a polite smile. “May I help you?”

“Uhhh did someone pick up the Manfred order?” He hurriedly pulls out his phone and shows his digital ID. “I’m Leo. Uh, Carl’s-”

“You’re Markus Manfred’s brother.” The android’s smile is brighter this time, and he has startling green eyes framed with light ginger lashes. “You took that beautiful photograph of him and Simon when the Sentient Life Act was passed. I was there in Jericho that day.”

“Oh.” Leo blinks, managing a half grin. “Uh, thanks. I’m pretty proud of that one.”

“I’m Vincent.” He holds out his hand, and Leo shakes it firmly. “Order #623 is ready for collection, but no one has picked it up yet. Did you want to pick it up on your father’s behalf?”

“Uhh, no? Not yet. I’m um, I’m waiting for my brother. I’ll be back though, uh- yeah I’ll just-” He backs out of the store and he’s too anxious about Markus to feel embarrassed by that interaction.

No new messages on his phone meaning the drones haven’t found him yet. _ Fuck _. Ok, so the bus would’ve stopped at Henry Ford Commemorative Park which is across the street. Maybe he’s around there, since he doesn’t seem to be around the shops? Leaving the shopping strip, Leo jogs across the road and enters the park. 

“Markus?” He calls out, the park empty at this time on so cold a January morning. The bus stop is also empty, so he decides to keep going a bit further. Maybe he missed his stop? His phone buzzes in his pocket and he nearly drops it in his haste to pull it out.

[Not in Greektown, check surrounding park area]

He makes a frustrated sound and jams it back in his pocket and decides to walk around the block. “Markus?” He calls out again, and he feels absolutely wretchedly sick to the bottom of his stomach at the thought Markus wandering around lost and scared and all by himself. 

“Leo?” There’s a smudge in the distance, a sort of browny reddy smudge calling out to him and Leo sprints across the road. “Leeeoooo!” The smudge is Markus and Leo drops to his knees, ignoring the crack of pain when his kneecaps hit the pavement as he crushes the boy in his arms. “Leeeoooooo!” Markus sobs and sobs, clinging to him desperately and Leo squeezes him tightly and rubs his back and vows to never let him out of his sight again. 

“I’m here, I’m here, it’s ok, I’ve got you, you found me.” He murmurs a stream of reassurances, clinging to Markus as much as Markus clings to him. “I’m here, I’m here.”

“Leo I couldn’t get the paints! I told dad I could do it but-”

“Dad’s a fu-” sharp inhale, _ calm the fuck down Leo, _ “dad forgot to ask you to wait for me. We’re meant to go together but he forgot I was at therapy this morning.”

“Together?” There’s something hopeful in his tone and fuck it makes Leo want to scream at Carl. 

“Yeah buddy.” He pulls away just far enough that they can see eye to eye. “We can run errands together, what do you say?”

“Yeah!” The last of his tears roll down his cheeks, a shaky smile on his lips, and Leo’s composure wobbles a bit. He takes off his beanie and gently eases it atop his head.

“This is the Beanie of Containment.” He keeps his tone very serious in a Grown Up way. “Simon made it for me and it’s my most favourite thing ever. It keeps you warm but it also fills your head with good thoughts and doesn’t let them escape.”

Markus outright beams at him and Leo hugs him again so he can bury his distressed expression in his brother’s shoulder instead of letting him see it. Brother. The word hasn’t meant much to Leo, and it’s still a bit prickly to the touch; there’s too much baggage there but he’s unpacking it slowly and steadily with his therapist. Being brothers with the leader of a revolution isn’t an easy feat by any means, but even moreso when that leader is the android he took his anger out on. Markus has shown him nothing but grace and reconciliation and it’s equal parts humbling and humiliating to Leo. But this? Seeing Markus like this, so earnestly eager to please, so openly affectionate, it’s enough to make Leo’s head spin.

He turns around and lets Markus clamber onto his back and Leo can’t recall the last time he gave someone a piggyback but somehow this time feels like the only time that matters. Markus wraps his arms around Leo’s neck and shifts so that his cheek is pressed to his.

“You’re the best brother ever Leo.” He whispers, and Leo almost tips over onto the sidewalk right then and there with the sudden stab in his heart. 

“Yeah well,” he clears his throat, trying to keep the mood light even though he’s about ready to head back to his therapist and cry on their couch, “don’t you forget it!”

When they enter Bellini’s again, Vincent’s eyebrows nearly vanish into his hairline.

“...is that-”

“It’s a secret. A temporary sitch.” Leo crouches down so Markus can hop off. “Don’t tell any humans, and don’t tell anyone outside of Jericho.”

“Excuse me.” Markus interrupts politely, barely able to see over the tall counter. “Um, do you have pastels I can look at?”

“We certainly do.” Vincent smiles, huffing a laugh as he gestures over at the other counter. “Are you after any specific colours?” The smaller android follows along, walking over as Vincent pulls out a drawer of pastel sticks arranged by hue.

“Ohhhhh wow, there’s so many!” A gasp followed by an excited smile. It turns a little hesitant when he looks over at Leo, tugging on his sleeve. “Leo how many am I allowed to buy?” 

He’s grinning down at Markus as he vividly remembers Carl granting him access to the house funds. “As many as you like buddy. Do you want the whole drawer? I can get the whole drawer.”

“Don’t be silly!” Markus laughs brightly and Leo loves the sound. “I already have some at home! But not this one, and um, that one, and those two there and these four down here.”

“Well,” he flashes Vincent a grin, “we’ll take all of those.”

“May I pick up order 623 too please?” Markus adds as Vincent begins to go through the smaller drawers with all the stock. 

“Of course you can.” The ginger android smiles. “Let me wrap up the pastels and I’ll fetch the order.”

Leo distracts him by pointing out the pigment jars and asking him to name the colours, and even though he’s all of nine Markus manages to identify a fair few with their correct names. 

“Thank you for waiting.” Vincent leans over the counter and hands Markus a small box of pastels before giving Leo the larger one filled with pigment jars. “Order 623.”

“Thank you Mister.” Markus smiles up at him as Leo presses his phone to the scanner to pay for everything. 

“You’re very welcome, Markus. Stay close to your brother, okay?”

“Okay!” He waves goodbye as Leo leads him out of the store, and Leo mouths a grateful ‘thank you’ to the android as they take their leave.

“Errand complete!” Markus bounces happily. “What’s next?”

“Hmm…” Leo looks around the shopping strip. “Let me get some food and we can head to Jericho.”

“Jericho?” Markus echoes curiously.

“There’s a tech guy who I know hasn’t eaten decently in at least twenty-four hours.” Leo rolls his eyes. “And if we’re lucky I’ll be able to convince him to get some sleep afterward.” 

“How do you forget to eat? That’s so silly.” Markus frowns, and Leo snorts back a laugh.

“He’s a very silly man, even though he’s so smart.” He leans down and holds out his phone, putting his face next to his brother’s. “Say cheese!” 

“Cheese!” 

The selfie is adorable, Markus all teeth and rosy cheeks. Leo sends it to Elijah’s phone with a quick [baby bro found!]. After a moment of wrestling with his conscience, he forwards it to Carl too. The anger is still there, simmering beneath his skin, but it’s no longer molten hot rage. He’ll deal with it all later when he’s sorted through that particular mess of emotions. For now, though, his next errand involves securing food and delivering it to one forgetful tech genius, aided by the best assistant Leo could ever ask for. 

“Ready for our next errand?” Leo offers Markus his hand, and the boy eagerly slips his hand into his.

“Yeah!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carl is not immune to being a Bad Dad considering he never really wanted to be a dad in the first place, so let's explore the t e n s i o n
> 
> Also Vincent named himself after Van Gogh because of his gingerness and yes he's the same android from the start of the game only now he's a very sweet deviant.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I thought I'd try and put up a meatier update for this long weekend so you can settle in if you need some downtime.  
Please note this chapter references [a Tina Chen side-story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20597447) which isn't essential reading but does add to the worldbuilding.  


The thing is, he’s always wanted to be a dad without being a husband. The thing is, for the longest time in the late 2000s and 2010s Hank Anderson thought he was broken for not being interested in what everyone else was interested in and that was namely getting into other people’s pants or skirts or both. But he remembers babysitting his baby cousins, and his neighbour’s kid, and he remembers the sound of little laughter and the feel of tiny hands closing around his finger and he remembers telling himself he will raise children to be good and kind and soft in a world that isn’t.

The thing is, when he paints the two flags on his cheeks that summer he turns seventeen, he finds a good group of friends and they’re proud in more ways than one and Hank starts to feel less broken and more whole. Time has a way of passing excruciatingly slow and somehow breakneck fast all at once and before he knows it he’s graduating police academy and then he’s a rookie cop and then he’s a detective solving cases left and right and then he brings down a Red Ice ring and becomes the youngest Lieutenant in recent history. Some friends stay and some friends go and he’s never figured out how to explain to interested women and men who slip him their number that he’s not actually interested in  _ that _ but he’d still like to...well, just  _ be _ with them. 

Some friends stay and some friends go, but Caroline is the best of them because Caroline’s known him since he was seventeen painting flags on their cheeks and Caroline says who needs marriages and heteronormativity and she says she has compatible parts they can make the baby and he can be a dad- no strings attached. Cole Anderson happens, and Hank making youngest Lieutenant ever pales in comparison to the sheer joy, the sheer pride of holding that pink squalling baby in his arms for the first time. He cries, he cries for hours because he can’t help it, because Cole is so very small in his hands as he bathes him for the first time and the nurses laugh at him in a fond, exasperated way as they rub his back and guide him through it. Time has a way of passing excruciatingly slow and somehow breakneck fast all at once and before he knows it Cole is no longer a baby but a toddler and then not a toddler and now a child, and Hank’s trying his best to raise him to be good and kind and soft in a world that isn’t.

The thing is, life isn’t fair. Life has a way of giving and taking without warning, of blessing you with something precious and then snatching it away the very next moment. He had six years of bliss raising Cole, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world although he’d trade the whole fucking world for just one more day with his son. He’d take him to the zoo, his favourite place, and sit him on his shoulders and point out the different animals and buy overpriced ice cream for him and wipe his sticky hands and mouth and pepper him with many many scruffy kisses and tell him over and over and over that he loves him, always will. 

“Dad?” Connor’s small voice startles him out of his nostalgic spiral before he can slide back into that mind-numbing darkness. 

“Yeah kiddo?” Hank blinks back the grief and focuses on the small android tugging his sleeve.

“Um, Ronan is okay now, he’s not sad.” The boy explains, and there’s Ronan shyly holding onto Connor’s other hand looking much better than when Hank had rescued him from under the reception desk. “He finished his thirium pouch and we coloured in some pictures and his stress and fluid levels are normal again.” 

“Well that’s good.” Hank reaches over to muss Ronan’s hair, and the boy offers a shy, fleeting smile. “Captain Fowler needs me to go back to Jericho to talk to the team there, so how about we all go and you boys can make some friends and play?”

“Yes please, we’d like that very much.” Ronan says in that soft British accent of his only it’s a completely different feel from the RK900 because when the RK900 talks it’s a cold, crisp accent and when the YK500 talks it’s just...cute. Like a new kid who moved next door from overseas. 

The boys put on their coats all by themselves and Hank helps Connor zip up his backpack and they very almost make it out the door before Stephanie calls out for him to stop. Her LED is a solid yellow, and while it’s not red Hank knows that something troubling is up. (He’s right, and mini-Markus has suffered the same fate as Ronan, seemingly thrown into the big wide world under the mistaken assumption that he is still a high-functioning adult android)

It’s a good twenty minutes later when mini-Markus has been found, that Hank manages to strap two boys into his car and set out for Jericho and the past twenty-four hours really have felt like an out of body experience. One moment Connor is an adult, still new to deviancy and finding his feet in the world, and the next moment Connor is six years old and telling his brother all about Sumo and maybe perhaps dad will let them walk Sumo together later. (The answer is yes but he won’t tell them that until later because he’s pretending he didn’t hear them and will ‘surprise’ them when they get back home.)

* * *

Elijah Kamski is arguably the smartest man on earth when it comes to technology but Leo also knows when it comes to keeping himself alive, the man is completely clueless; he functions under the assumption he’s an android too, and will literally work until he passes out. Leo thought Chloe had been exaggerating when regaling such tales, but no, he’s seen it firsthand; Eli works with no regard to the passage of time and the demands of his still very human body. It’s why Leo, with his ‘little’ brother in more ways than one, makes the trip back to Jericho with some sandwiches and drinks because he knows the android populace won’t exactly be able to cater for him anyway. 

“I’m running errands with my brother Leo!” Markus tells one of the guards using a Very Important Tone, face solemn as the other android breaks into a wide smile.

“Is that so?” They glance up at Leo and he manages a casual shrug, gesturing at the bag of food.

“Someone’s gotta keep that smart idiot alive.” 

“Well you can find him exactly where you left him.” They wave him inside with a laugh, and Leo tries not to trip over how significant it is that he can wander in and out of Jericho relatively freely. Being Carl Manfred’s son doesn’t matter as much as being Markus Manfred’s brother, and if he’s being honest with himself he cares about that much more. Since there’s no Hallmark movie moment of father and son reconciliation, no big speech that will make it all better magically, they have to tough it out with therapy and small talk and cringing through the guilt and embarrassment like normal people do. He wants it, he won’t lie, but it’s a mountain best climbed with support and boy does Leo now have some actual support in his life. Namely a brother who happens to be the revolutionary of the century. 

“Do you think he’s slept at all? Humans need sleep.” Markus frowns as they make their way to the Med Bay, bag of water bottles clutched safely to his chest. 

“Oh he absolutely has not slept.” Leo snorts, shaking his head. “Even before this mess he was deadset on upgrading his arm because it was giving him trouble.” 

Markus’ frown deepens and when he’s not nine years old it makes him look pensive and concerned, but since he’s currently nine years old and it makes him look adorable. Leo drops a hand atop his tight curls and musses them. 

“Don’t worry, Chloe and I are used to keeping him alive.” The answer doesn’t satisfy Markus at all, and the deep furrow of his brows makes Leo laugh as they finally enter the Med Bay. Elijah is in fact exactly where he left him, scrutinising the large screen populated with cascading gibberish. 

“Excuse me Mister Kamski?” Markus gets his attention politely, holding out the bag of water bottles. “Leo and I brought you supplies to stabilise your vitals!”

It takes a moment for Elijah to take in the situation, blinking in surprise before his expression changes to one of pleasantry and amusement. 

“Thank you Markus, that’s very kind of you.”

“Leo said you sometimes forget how to keep yourself alive.” His tone is sympathetic as Elijah accepts one of the water bottles and takes a long swig from it. 

“Did he now?” He cocks a brow at Leo who shrugs unrepentantly.

“I said what I said, and you know I’m not lying.” He makes a show of placing the bag of sandwiches on the table. “Now eat your supplies and stabilise your vitals.”

Elijah rolls his eyes, taking a moment to lean over and gently press a kiss to Leo’s lips. It’s like a little static shock, a jolt to Leo’s beaten, scarred heart every time that reminds him this is his reality now. It makes him feel giddy, like he’s back in high school with his first crush and it makes years of drug addiction melt away into Bad Dream territory. 

“Who am I to argue?” He smiles and Leo knows he’s making one of those stupid dopey smiles in return but somehow it’s less embarrassing the more he does it. 

“Yeah yeah, someone’s gotta keep you alive. And I’ve got the best helper with me today.” Leo grins down at Markus who positively beams with pride. 

“We expect nothing less from Markus Manfred.” Chloe pipes up, scooping Markus into a cuddle and smudging kisses into his nest of curls. 

“Ms Chloe!” He giggles delightedly, squirming in her grasp. 

“You’re going to have some playmates soon! Hank’s bringing Connor and Ronan.” She coos, kissing his brow. “And there are plenty of children here who’d love to play with you.” 

“Leo, do we have anymore errands to run?” Markus blinks up at him owlishly and Leo shakes his head with a smile.

“Nah buddy, you’re good to go. I’ll hold onto the art supplies and you go play.”

The boy lights up like a Christmas tree and Leo can’t help but laugh as Markus gives a few excited little bounces. 

“Thanks Leo! I’ll see you soon okay bye!” He rushes breathlessly, waving as Chloe ushers him outside. 

* * *

2037 Tina would probably think 2039 Tina is completely crazy. Actually most of 2038 Tina would think 2039 Tina is completely crazy, but then the revolution happened, and  _ Stephanie _ happened and that creepy poison guy happened and now she’s Detective Tina Chen sharing her shitty shoebox apartment with her android girlfriend. Completely crazy. At least Reed is still the pinnacle of human disaster- some things never change.

“Okay okay so if the Teariums aren’t physically flavoured, how can they have different flavours to the androids?” Gavin asks as they idle at a red light. “Like, how is one vanilla ‘flavoured’ without any actual flavour to it at all? If a human drinks it wouldn’t it just taste like thirium?”

“If a human drinks it they’d get thirium poisoning and will need to be taken straight to hospital.” Tina drawls as Gavin makes an unimpressed face.

“Yeah okay listen, I’ve actually done that because my fuckwit cousin thought it was a great idea to put his prototypes in my empty gatorade bottles and store them in the fridge.”

“Well that would account for all your brain damage.” Tina quips as Gavin makes an offended noise. “Teariums contain coding, and coding is basically just little electrical impulses of on and off read by different processors to mean different things. Thirium is like our own red blood cells carrying oxygen around our bodies. When androids drink the coded Tearium their system recognises the coding inside and tells them it’s a certain flavour.”

“But-” Gavin makes a confused face, “ _ how _ do you get the code  _ inside _ the tea? Like, how do they put the ‘on and offs’ into something physical?”

“When the Teariums are being made they run the coding through thirium processed by machine. You learn a lot of things when your girlfriend is an android.” Tina shrugs, and Gavin shoots her a somewhat uncomfortable look. There’s a stab of indignant anger. “What, you still got a problem with that?”

“No! No I just-” he shakes his head rapidly. “Shit’s fuckin’ weird, that’s all. I mean, like, the whole world’s been turned upside down in the last month and a half. You didn’t give two shits about androids and now you’re dating one. I was part of an anti-android alliance and now I got one as a housemate. Six months ago if someone told me any of that I would’ve suckerpunched them.”

“If I’d have told you one week ago your killing machine housemate would be temporarily six years old you would’ve suckerpunched me.” She teases, and Gavin rolls his eyes. 

“I said I was sorry!” 

“You owe the kid a Tearium popsicle in the very least.” 

“Or Anderson will skin me alive, yeah yeah I know.” He mumbles as Tina grins at him. “Anyway where the fuck are we actually going?”

“We’re going to one of the little breweries that make Teariums.” Tina informs him as they make a turn off into a side street. “In the files Jericho sent us they discovered all three Tearium bottles came from the same batch but since there’s no actual trademark or patent on Teariums yet, it could’ve come from any of eight different breweries since they all use the same standard rectangular bottles for thirium from the CyberLife factory. There’s no manufacturing date printed on the bottles since there’s no regulations for it but the team did manage to deduce the three bottles were made at the same time and purchased at the same cafe close to Jericho.” 

“How did you figure that out though? Does thirium degrade over time?”

“Yeah, it’s why you’re meant to heat the Tearium before you consume it. It sort of jolts the coding.” 

She pulls up to a non-descript storefront and before Gavin can get out, she grabs his arm.

“Listen, it goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway- let me do the talking. Your partner might be one of the androids of the revolution and you might be sharing a house with him now, but some androids will remember your face as someone who used to march with Humanity First.”

There’s a few things that flash over his face- irritation, understanding, guilt, and Tina doesn’t let go until he nods.

“Lead the way.”

Now she’s made detective, Tina’s glad she no longer has to wear her cop uniform; it’s easier for her to enter an android establishment without the visual marker flagging her. After crossing the threshold she pauses a second, knowing they’re scanning her face that very moment.

“Can we help you, Detective Chen?” One of them asks politely, in a tone that’s a little guarded, a little nervous.

“We won’t take up too much of your time, and no one’s in trouble we’re just trying to find a source for some Tearium sold to Wayfarer cafe.” Tina holds up her badge and takes a few more steps into the store. The smell of thirium is masked pleasantly behind sweet floral candles on the counter, but it’s there all the same.

“The cafe near Jericho?” Another android asks, blinking curiously. “Did something happen?”

“Yes.” She nods slowly, choosing her words carefully. “Some androids were poisoned after consuming contaminated Tearium. Unlike the other case, it wasn’t by a physical contaminant but a coded one.”

“We’d never poison our own people!” A third android spits, face contorted with anger. 

“No one’s blaming anyone, we’re just trying to get to the truth.” Tina soothes, palms bared. 

“Have you tried asking humans instead?” They scoff, eyeing Gavin. “The one right behind you has advocated for our death before.”

“Hey! I just-” He closes his mouth the moment Tina shoots him a warning glare.

“It may well be human intervention. It’s why we’re going to each of the breweries to try and understand what’s happening. It’s entirely possible a delivery was rerouted, the goods taken and tampered with, before being sent to the cafe with none the wiser.” She tries again, trying her best to keep her tone neutral and patient. It seems to placate the android enough, and they press their mouth into a tight line before nodding.

“We don’t deliver to Wayfarer, we’re the main supplier for the Starbucks by Central Precinct and the two cafes in Greektown.” The first android informs them. “Do you know what flavour the contaminated batch was? There’s two breweries that supply Wayfarer and they make different flavours.” 

“Vanilla.” Gavin mumbles behind her. 

“Then it’s Theobald’s by the MacArthur Bridge.” They hold out their hand and display a photo of the storefront as well as the coordinates. “Are they alright? The androids who were poisoned?”

“They’re holding on.” Tina tells the truth, shoulders heavy. “The code is complicated and it’s important to find the source before it hurts anyone else.” 

“Good luck, detectives.” They shake hands and Tina nods determinedly. 

* * *

“That’s RK coding.” Elijah declares through a mouthful of sandwich as he isolates the thread onscreen. “Right there. That’s only used for RK units. I wrote that myself.”

“So it’s specifically targeted these three androids.” Amanda hums in thought. “Not an attack on androids as a whole, but an assassination attempt on key figures.”

“That’s even worse.” Chloe closes her eyes, expression pained. “An assassination attempt on the android leader and his brothers who also had a hand in the revolution.”

“It doesn’t narrow the suspect pool, there’s heaps of people and androids too who disagree with Markus.” Leo frowns, crossing his arms as he stares up at the huge screen of meaningless numbers and letters. 

“But it does narrow it- who would have access to RK coding? It means we can narrow it down to CyberLife staff at least, right?” Hank rubs his beard idly, having arrived not too long ago and let the kids loose in the creche to play. 

“Sort of. There’s also the possibility of android technicians being the ones behind this, because at some point all three RK units have undergone repairs. Connor and Ronan have done so several times because of their job, and Markus had extensive repairs right after the revolution.” Chloe corrects with a heavy sigh. “But you’re right, that does at least narrow it somewhat.”

“DPD can crosscheck criminal records to see if they used to work for CyberLife.” Hank takes out his phone, about to send a message to Tina. He thinks the better of it and just hands the phone to Chloe, who holds it for a moment, LED rapidly blinking yellow before she hands it back. “So some techie made a virus just for the RK boys huh? Does knowing that help fix the virus at all?”

“A little. The RK units share similar coding so what works for one will work for all of them.” Amanda explains, her hologram flickering as she passes through the table to reach the other end of the screen. “What makes them unique also makes the virus unique. We have new avenues to explore, new paths open to us with this discovery.”

“With the boys housed in YK500 units we’ve been able to put their bodies into stasis.” Chloe gestures at the prone bodies on the tables. “While it doesn’t mean we can take it easy, it does mean we’re no longer racing to avoid shutdown. It buys us time.”

Hank leaves the med bay with his head spinning. He’s never been good with technology, it’s all just a foreign language to him but what he does know is someone’s out to get the boys and they need to find them fast. Leo falls into step beside him, the young man flashing him a self-conscious grin.

“Best we leave the geniuses to their work.” 

“You got it.” Hank agrees, jamming his hands in his pockets as they head for the creche. “Glad you found Markus after all that fuss this morning. Never thought Carl Manfred would be as dumb as Gavin Reed but here we are.”

“Ugh, don’t even go there. I don’t have enough energy to deal with that right now.” Leo scowls, shaking his head. 

“At least it was out of ignorance, and not malice.” Hank notes. “They didn’t mean to do it. You can’t hold that against him for too long, Leo.”

“I’ll just add it to my dad’s list of fuckups.” Leo retorts, eyes hardened. “If you tell me to let it go or be the bigger person or whatever I’ll punch you and you can arrest me and I absolutely won’t regret it.”

That makes Hank laugh loudly, the sound startling some androids as they pass by.

“Ah hell kid, I wouldn’t do that.” He reassures him with a chuckle. “I nearly killed Gavin right on the spot in a room full of cops.”

Kids are messy, and it seems android kids are no exception. When Hank enters the creche to try and find the boys he finds them in one of the art rooms. Covered in paint. There’s more paint on the children than there seems to be on the walls where the beginnings of a mural are happening. 

“It’s all water soluble, don’t worry.” An exhausted domestic android sighs, seeing the surprised look on Hank’s face. “We learned that lesson early on.”

“Oh I’m sure you did.” Hank laughs, looking over to where Ronan and Connor are enthusiastically slapping their green coloured hand prints on the wall to become leaves for a tree. Connor seems to perk up at the sound, perhaps recognising Hank’s voice through the cacophony of laughter and giggling and chatter, and makes a beeline for him.

“Hank!” 

“Connor don’t-!” The caretaker cries, just as Connor barrels into Hank and wraps his arms around his leg. 

“Ah don’t worry about it.” Hank shakes his head, ignoring his now paint splattered trousers in favour of bending to lift the boy up and brace him on his hip. “Having fun?”

“We’re painting a jungle!” Connor points enthusiastically. “Ronan and I are making trees!”

“I see that kiddo.” He thumbs a smudge of green from Connor’s cheek. 

“Markus is painting a lion, look! He’s so cool!” 

The mini Manfred is indeed painting a lion, brows furrowed in concentration as he slowly drags a brush through the lion’s mane.

“Still an artist even when he’s tiny.” Leo sighs fondly, walking over to gently muss his brother’s hair. 

“Leo do you like it?” Markus’ smile is hopeful as he looks up at him. 

“He looks great, buddy. Good job!” Leo gives his shoulder a squeeze. 

“His name is Leo too!”

“Oh is it?” 

“Yeah!” Markus nods enthusiastically. “Because he’s um, he’s brave and really cool and stuff. Like you.”

Hank watches Leo try to process that, watches as the young man tries and fails to hide how much it affects him to hear it coming from Markus. Kids have no filter, it’s true, and while it’s a double-edged sword at times, most of the time it’s refreshing to hear their honesty and know it comes from their heart. 

* * *

She knows that look, of course she does; if anyone in the world knows Elijah Kamski down to his very core it’s her. 

“What is it?” Her silly little genius is deep in thought, brows furrowed and a frown on his lips as he stares at the highlighted code onscreen. 

“Hm?” He resurfaces from his reverie, blinking at her. “Oh, no, I’m just tired dear one.”

“You’re lying.” She states lightly, tucking herself at his side as he automatically moves his arm to settle around her shoulders. 

“I’m half lying.” He corrects. “I am, truthfully, tired.”

“What is it?” She repeats and he shakes his head.

“No, I don’t want to voice it just yet. There’s no truth, no facts behind it. I need to ruminate on it more.”

“Then get some sleep.” Chloe urges, looking up at him. “Go to Carl’s, it’s not too far.”

“Are you inviting me over on his behalf?” Elijah huffs a laugh as Chloe giggles.

“He’s basically your father in law now, Eli.” She teases, delighting in the soft bloom of heat in his cheeks. “And you’ve been friends long before that. You can take Leo and Markus with you. Get some sleep, and I’ll wake you if Amanda and I find anything.”

There’s a moment where she knows he’s considering resisting, but it passes because they both know he’ll lose to her anyway. She tips up on her toes and kisses his cheek. 

“Wake me, you  _ promise _ ?”

“We promise.” Chloe vows, and ushers her silly little genius away.

He doesn’t take Leo and Markus with him, and he doesn’t go to Carl’s. Elijah keys in the destination into the taxi and slumps down in the seat exhaustedly. He needs to think, he needs to plan with no distractions, no matter how tempting it is to curl up in bed with Leo and sleep the day and night away. There’s more at stake here, there’s lives at stake in fact, but he can’t move forward on a hunch. 

The apartment is empty, his cousin most likely out working the very same case and so Elijah gives Trashcat a pat and sidesteps the Void puddle melted in the black rug and makes for Gavin’s bedroom. He still, unfortunately, needs sleep as he hasn’t quite figured out how to replace his pesky human body for a far more efficient android one but at least this way he can sleep with no interruptions and get right back to work. Shucking off his boots and jacket, Elijah crawls under the covers and is out like a light the moment his head hits the pillow.

* * *

His stomach tells him it is in fact close to dinnertime and yes he needs to eat. The jungle mural is looking more and more complete and less like an explosion of paint, though the kids very well look like the latter. He adds bathtime to the list of tonight’s chores, and he knows Sumo will still need walking. 

“Come on boys, we need to head home.” Hank coaxes them from their art tutorial, Markus patiently teaching them how to paint feathers on a parrot. “Markus and Leo need to head home too.”

“Aww dad-”

“But Hank-”

“And who will walk Sumo if we don’t? Poor guy’s been cooped up all day.” Hank sighs dramatically, watching the expressions on their faces carefully.

“Okay! Let’s go!” Connor bounces excitedly.

“Can I help too?” Ronan asks, ever shy and hopeful. 

“Course you can. But first we gotta get you boys cleaned up, so let’s get goin’.” 

“Yes dad.”

“Yes Hank.” 

“Andersons are rolling out, Leo.” Hank jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Probably best you head home too.” 

“Yeah yeah.” Leo rolls his eyes. “Guess we better go. Simon’s probably home already.”

“Simon?” Markus perks up at the mention of that name. “Okay!”

The poor dog is near bursting, no time for happy reunions when he greets them at the door and Hank lets him out into the backyard with no preamble. Leaving Sumo out to do his business, he turns his attention to wrangling two filthy boys into the bath. Even as six year olds their different personalities shine through; Connor tosses his clothes into a pile while Ronan neatly folds his into a stack. He doesn’t have bubble bath mix ready but by the time he’s lathered enough shampoo to remove dried paint the murky water has plenty of suds. To their credit the boys don’t fuss or splash too much though there’s a bit of spillage on account of Sumo nosing his way into the bathroom and surprising them, causing Connor to flail excitedly. Hank is equal parts trying to shove down painful memories back into the box, and enjoying their delighted laughter at the same time. It’s been a long time since his heart’s felt that familiar squeeze of fondness and affection and the satisfaction that comes from a freshly bathed child dressed in clean clothes. And there’s two of them this time. 

“Connor we have to take our clothes to the laundry.” Says Ronan in that soft British accent of his, handing Connor his pile of dirty clothes before scooping up his neat little folded stack. Hank huffs a tired but fond laugh as Connor trails his brother, Sumo following out of duty too. He cleans the bathtub, running the shower to chase the last of the truly water soluble paint down the drain before he towels his arms dry. He finds the boys trying to get Sumo ready for his walk by the front door, Connor in the midst of looping Sumo’s blue scarf as Ronan wrestles with the little bolt snap on the end of the leash to connect to his collar. 

“Let’s go let’s go!” Connor bounces, running to tug on Hank’s sleeve. “Come onnnn!”

“Yeah yeah I’m coming!” Hank chuckles, grabbing his coat. Making sure they’re all rugged up properly, Hank pockets the keys before shepherding everyone out the door. Apparently walking the dog is an entire family affair but honestly Hank doesn’t mind it. He hangs back a step or two as the boys bracket Sumo who is a little confused but glad for the company on what usually would be just the two of them. They might be six but they’re still androids and apparently Ronan has calculated the route and halved it perfectly so they can take equal turns holding Sumo’s leash. Their little legs mean the walk takes longer than it’s meant to but to be fair Hank’s grateful for the gentler pace. The day feels like it’s lasted a week and there’s a lot to take in, a lot he still needs to process. As nice and as blissful as it is looking after the two boys, there’s an active case hanging over his head. Hank doesn’t know whether taking a back seat is for the best, but what he does know is that he’s not trusting the care of these boys to anyone else. 

By the time they make it home Hank’s cancelling cooking plans and has firmly decided on scrounging for last night’s leftovers. The boys sit at the dinner table and sip their little caprisuns as Hank tucks into a bowl of last night’s stirfry which sates the gnawing in his stomach. Connor cajoles Ronan into helping brush Sumo’s fur, and Hank settles onto the couch to watch some mindless talk show so his brain can unwind. It’s a bit too early to turn in for the night, but god does he feel tired. He closes his eyes, just for a moment he tells himself.

It’s his bladder that wakes him, and it isn’t a moment later it’s a good hour and a half later and the clock tells him it is in fact time to turn in for the night. Only, Hank finds himself trapped and unable to move. There’s a large Saint Bernard fast asleep draped over his feet, for starters, and a small child tucked on either side. They’re a soft, warm presence, heads pillowed on either shoulder. The past two years have been the darkest of all his fifty-five years, and never in a million years could he have foreseen this situation. It’s the calmest he’s felt since Cole died. The very thought makes his breath hitch in his chest, and the movement makes Connor stir a little, rubbing his eyes as he yawns widely.

“Bedtime?” He asks hopefully, and Hank wriggles an arm free so he can wrap it around him, rubbing his back. 

“Yeah kiddo, time for bed.” He looks down at Ronan still fast asleep. “You hop off the couch and I’ll carry your brother, okay?”

“Okay.” He yawns again, nodding sleepily as he slides off the couch. “Come on Sumo, dad needs to get up.” The dog huffs in protest, grumbling as Hank carefully slides his feet out from under his weight. “You can come sleep on the bed with us, it’s okay.” Connor coaxes the dog to follow as he heads to the bedroom. Hank carefully scoops Ronan into his arms, the boy whining as he’s shifted around.

“Shhh it’s okay, it’s okay.” He pacifies him, patting his back a little as he walks to Connor’s room. The other boy is already in his pyjamas, and Sumo is waiting patiently by the end of the bed, ready to hop up. Hank eases Ronan down beside his brother and tucks the covers up to their chins. He gives Sumo an approving nod, and the dog jumps onto the bed and flops over their feet. “You’re looking after two tonight, Sumo.”

“Goodnight dad.” Connor’s little voice pipes up, slightly muffled from beneath the blankets. There’s that squeeze again, that vice around Hank’s heart as he tousles Connor’s curls.

“G’night son.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had plans to update this sooner btw but [Simon Happened.](https://www.instagram.com/p/B5H4blmnOZn/) So uhhh [gimme your league cards???](https://www.instagram.com/p/B5bMG_9HnMP/)


	7. Chapter 7

Theobald’s brewery by the MacArthur Bridge is a slightly larger building than the previous location and apparently the first established after the revolution. It has a purple storefront and was previously a pharmacy before the conversion into a brewery. Theobald himself is an AC700, one of the athletic companion models used for sports and physiotherapy though one would be hard-pressed to associate the snappy dresser with sweaty physical activity given the sharply tailored plaid suit. 

“Essie gave us the heads up you’d be comin’, Detective Chen.” His body language is guarded, arms crossed over his chest and tone wary. 

“Yes, we’re trying to trace a specific batch of vanilla flavoured Tearium stocked at Wayfarer cafe after some androids were poisoned.” Tina nods and holds up her badge. The android’s expression tightens and he shakes his head.

“I got nothin’ to say to you and I mean that in the nicest way possible. We look after our own, and though I’ve heard of you, you ain’t a familiar face around here.” He looks over at Reed, expression disgusted. “The one behind you we know about, and not in the nicest way possible.”

“If I sent him to the car and pretended he wasn’t here would you talk to me then?” Tina asks dryly and the android snorts back a laugh as Gavin makes a sound of protest.

“Sorry Detective, but we’re not too keen on dealin’ with humans.” He shakes his head, then pauses thoughtfully. “But I tell you who I  _ will _ talk to- Lieutenant Anderson. We know him. He looks after his son well, and Connor’s helped us out with permits before, put in a good word for us.”

Tina concedes with a nod. “If I come back tomorrow with Lieutenant Anderson, you’ll help us out?”

“Yes.” Theobald confirms.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  
  


* * *

Carl’s expression is one of deep regret and contrition from the moment Simon comes home and receives an explanation for the absence of his temporarily de-aged partner and Leo, and remains throughout the afternoon until the pair return home in the early evening. Leo’s expression is one of carefully controlled anger, and Simon can see how hard the young man is trying to keep his emotions in check as Markus greets their father with cheer.

“Hi dad! Look, we got those pigments you ordered and Leo got me some new pastels!” The boy holds out the Bellini paints box proudly and Carl’s smile is strained.

“Well done Markus, thank you so much.” His eyes flick up at Leo before returning to him. “I’m very sorry I sent you out on your own. That was incredibly irresponsible of me.”

“It’s okay, Leo found me and we completed our errands together.” Markus beams up at his brother, and Leo manages a somewhat forced grin in return. “We went to Bellini Paints and then to a cafe and then to Jericho! I helped paint a jungle mural! Leo took photos, he can show you on his phone!” 

“It sounds like Leo took very good care of you.” Carl’s smile is sincere this time, and Simon sees some of the tension drop from Leo’s shoulders.

“He’s the bestest best big brother ever!” Markus squeezes Leo’s hand, still smiling up at him. 

“We make a good team, don’t we buddy?” Leo’s grin comes naturally, his hand resting atop Markus’ tight textured curls. “Though it’s definitely bath time for you, you’re covered in paint!”

“I’ll go run a hot bath for you.” Simon crouches so he’s at eye level. “Help Leo put the art supplies away and then come to the bathroom alright? Leo can have dinner while you have a bath.”

“Okay Simon.” Markus nods obediently, reaching to hold Leo’s hand. He watches them head to the studio before turning to Carl. 

“I’ve made dinner and I think Leo will be amiable enough to eat it with you.” Simon sighs tiredly. “I hope he is, anyway.”

“I hope so too, but if he isn’t I completely understand.” Carl closes his eyes, expression pained as he shakes his head. “I can’t believe I sent Markus out on his own.”

“You didn’t know.” Simon reassures him as he wheels him to the dining table. “It wasn’t like you purposefully sent a child into the city on his own, you thought he was still an adult.”

“I still feel terrible about it.”

“That means you have a conscience, last time I checked.” He quips, eliciting a smile from the old man. “I’ll bring dinner out and then I’ll take Markus to the bathroom.”

There’s too much going on in his head; thoughts of the seemingly pointless frustrating meeting with the humans earlier that day, of the week’s menu, of Markus being nine years old and how uncomfortable that makes him feel. He’s actively fighting his programming, pushing aside the childcare protocols and the urge to spoil the adorable biracial boy with a head of delightful curls and cinnamon dusting of freckles and mismatched eyes. That’s his partner: his other half (his far better half if he’s being honest) and the leader of the revolution. They were... _ intimate _ in the bed they share just two nights ago and now Simon is holding his hand and leading him to the bathroom where he’s prepared a big bubble bath. ‘Uncomfortable’ is woefully inadequate to describe the clash of feelings Simon is experiencing.

The bathwater turns a ruddy brown as a myriad of colours are scrubbed from Markus’ hair and skin, and the boy tells him all about his exciting day at Jericho and describes vividly the jungle mural he helped work on and how he taught his younger brothers how to paint feathers on a parrot. Simon listens and smiles and nods and helps him dry off and lets him do up the buttons on his pyjama top all by himself. It’s not the usual time Markus goes to bed, but Markus is nine years old at the moment and at the moment it’s the right time to go to bed for a nine year old. 

“Goodnight Simon.” Markus’ voice is small, his expression tender as Simon tucks him into bed.

“Sweet dreams, Markus.” Leaning down, he presses a kiss to his brow and closes the door behind him. 

Dinner is some sort of rich stew with pasta in it, and Simon’s never cooked a meal Leo didn’t like. It’s not the stew that’s making his stomach churn, and he pokes at a piece of beef with his spoon to avoid looking across the table at his father. 

“You didn’t do it on purpose.” Leo mumbles into his soup, and he hears Carl sigh morosely.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” 

“Hank told me Eli’s cousin did it to Ronan too, so…” Leo darts him a glance and sees the guilt all over his face. “You know now.”

“I do.” Carl nods. “I’d never willingly put either of you in danger, Leo. Please at least believe that.” There’s a long pause and Leo nods tightly. It’s too tiring to stay angry all the time, and though it’s been a bitter pill to swallow he’s learned that lesson well.

“You wanna see what he drew?” Plucking his phone from his pocket, he opens the gallery and slides it over to him. “They have this sort of childcare centre in Jericho in one of the converted warehouses. It has all these rooms for the kids and each one has a different theme.” 

Carl flicks through the photos, a small smile on his lips and Leo can’t help ramble proudly.

“He’s nine but like, he’s still  _ Markus _ , you know? Look at those colours and that brushwork! He was painting a lion and kids like, usually they’d just choose one colour for one thing like, the lion’s body would be yellow and the mane would be brown but Markus put all different shades and shadows and texture into it and then he taught Connor and Ronan how to paint feathers on birds!” 

“An artist through and through.” Carl chuckles, and the last of the tension blessedly gives way to easy conversation and Leo feels tired but tired in a good way and not tired in a wound-up way, not tired in a furious way. 

“Guess there’s no separating that from Markus, no matter what state he’s in.”

“You’re a wonderful big brother to him, Leo.” His father murmurs, and Leo feels his heart squeeze. “You’re right in many ways, I’m really not cut out to be a father. Not in the way you needed, or the way Markus needs right now. I’m glad you’re here for him, I’m glad he has you.” 

No he’s not going to cry into his dinner, he absolutely won’t allow it but the feeling is there all the same and Leo tries valiantly to crush it underfoot as he manages a nod. “Thanks dad.”

Carl reaches across the table to return his phone, and gives his hand a gentle pat and finally the weariness of the day eases from his shoulders. 

* * *

There’s a man in his bed. More specifically, his cousin is in his bed and it’s been over a decade since Eli set foot in this apartment and now Gavin’s standing over his sleeping form with no prior warning he’d find him here. The fucking nerve of this man. He’s spent the better part of the day being berated by Hank and Tina both, and playing second fiddle to Tina despite being her senior and now he’s come home to his slightly un-estranged cousin passed out in his bed. Not sleeping, but well and truly passed out. Gavin checked. Or, well, Gavin poked and prodded and shoved and Eli didn’t react at all and that means Eli hasn’t slept in at least two days. What an absolute moron. Who would willingly forgo sleep? Asleep is Gavin’s favourite state of being.

Growling in frustration, he weighs up his options; Option A: sleep in the only other bed available, which happens to be Ronan’s and risk actual death when Terminator returns to his proper Terminator size and uses his fancy scanning skills to see that a human has been in his bed, his least favourite human at that. Option B: sleep on the couch, which really isn’t a bad option seeing as it’s a comfy couch that he has in fact slept on several times. Option C: it’s his fucking bed so he should sleep in it, unconscious cousin be damned. 

Skulking off to the bathroom to brush his teeth, he sidesteps the Void and gently elbows Trashcat to the side so he can fetch the toothpaste and toothbrush in the cup behind her. There’s a growing twinge in his chest as he glances over at Eli while brushing his teeth. They used to be as close as siblings when they were growing up, and he couldn’t picture a single day without Eli by his side. They shared a bed until they were too big to but even then they still piled on the couch and played video games until they fell asleep. There’s over a decade of missed time, when Gavin was too furious at both Eli and the world to even think about the bridge he reduced to ashes between them. They’re awkwardly trying to reconnect now, trying to bridge the chasm between them though if he’s to be uncomfortably honest it really should be him making all the effort because Eli’s never stopped. 

He changes into a sleep shirt and tugs on some boxers and leaves the door slightly ajar in case any of the cats want in. Crawling into bed beside his cousin, Gavin closes his eyes and tries not to think about how much he’s missed this. 

* * *

There’s a voicemail on his phone from a call he missed at some point last night, and Hank glances ahead of him at the boys dutifully walking Sumo before placing the phone to his ear.

[‘Lieutenant, it’s Tina. We traced the Tearium to Theobald’s brewery by the MacArthur Bridge but he won’t talk unless you’re here. He trusts only you and Connor at the DPD, and promised to help us out if you come with me tomorrow. Give me a buzz in the morning when you’re ready.’]

He taps out a quick message to the young detective before pocketing his phone and focusing on supervising the boys. The morning air is still on the sharper side of crisp and when Hank sighs there’s a big cloud of condensation that billows from his mouth. It makes Connor giggle when he spots it, having glanced over his shoulder at the right moment. Hank grins and does it again and the boy’s delighted laugh is a balm for the ache in his heart. 

“I have to go to help Detective Chen at work today.” Hank explains, making sure Ronan is paying attention too. “I’m not leaving you boys at home, so would you like to go to Jericho? Or maybe to Markus’ house?”

“Oh! Let’s go to Markus’ house!” Connor bounces excitedly. “We can paint again in his dad’s studio!”

“And Simon will be there.” Ronan adds with a soft smile. 

“Alright, let me give Simon a call and see if he’s up for looking after three today instead of one.”

The android is indeed up for the task, and once Sumo has been fed, watered, and let out to do his business Hank goes about getting the boys ready for the day. Ronan’s backpack is still at Reed’s place but he knows Simon will definitely have ample android supplies to make up for it. The drive to the fancy side of town is a quiet one, most of the city still in the early stages of rousing and Hank’s grateful he’s not sitting in traffic just yet. The Manfred Manor looms in the distance, and though he’s been here a handful of times now, he’ll never get used to the eccentric artist and his equally eccentric house. As he pulls up the driveway, Simon is standing at the door, mini Markus at his side and the boy lights up when he spots Connor and Ronan. 

“You know, I actually haven’t even seen them like this.” Simon’s smile is contagious as the boys clamber out of the car and run to greet their older brother. 

“Yeah, they did Markus last didn’t they?” Hank chuckles as Simon coos over them. “Thanks for agreeing to take them. I don’t know how long this will take but I’m hoping to get it over with.”

“It’s absolutely no problem at all, Lieutenant.” Simon reassures him, bending to scoop Ronan into his arms and brace him on his hip, seemingly unable to help himself as he presses kisses into the boy’s hair. Ronan smiles shyly, hiding his face in the crook of Simon’s shoulder and Hank laughs as he rubs his back fondly.

“Behave for Simon, you two!” He orders them sternly and they chorus a ‘yes Hank’ as Simon shepherds everyone inside. “I’ll let you know when I’m coming round to pick them up.”

“Of course. Best of luck with the case, Lieutenant.” There’s something both sad and hopeful in Simon’s parting smile. “I hope it’s solved soon.”

The PL600 programming is going crazy, and Simon finally feels like he has the proper outlet. Two of them, in fact. He ushers the boys to the studio where he’s set up a large tarp on the floor to catch the mess, and several blank canvases ready for whatever artistic endeavours are about to unfold. Carl won’t wake for another hour and that means it’ll be too late for him to protest though Simon’s sure he won’t mind. Besides, who could say no to the adorable RK brothers? 

“Markus can you show us how to paint feathers? We didn’t get to finish the parrot yesterday!” Connor asks, eagerly trailing the older boy as Markus chooses brushes from the jar.

“Ok! We can paint a big parrot together, here let’s get the paints.” 

“And then fish, I like fish, let’s paint fish next!” Connor pleads and Markus laughs as he promises that yes, they will paint fish next. 

“I’ll fix you boys up with some hot drinks, it’s pretty frightful out there this morning.” Simon declares, and Ronan gently holds onto the hem of his sleeve.

“Um, can I come with you? I can help.” A pause, a crease to his brow. “I-if that’s alright?”

“That’s perfectly alright, Ronan.” He smiles, offering his hand. The boy holds onto it immediately, small hand clasping his fingers and Simon just barely resists the urge to pick him up again. “Are you liking staying with Hank and Connor?”

“Yes, it’s very nice, I like it.” He confirms with a solemn nod as they make their way to the kitchen. “Hank is very kind and Connor helps me a lot and um, Sumo is also there and he’s very fluffy and warm and he makes me feel safe.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Ronan.” He holds the pantry cupboard open so Ronan can pluck a bottle of thirium from the shelf. It’s plain, and direct from CyberLife since Simon isn’t willing to risk poisoning the boys a second time around. “Four mugs please.” He instructs, lifting the boy up so he can reach the upper cupboard where the glasses and cups are kept. From Carl’s eclectic collection of mugs, Ronan chooses one with stained glass fish, one with a Picasso cat, one with colourful brushstrokes and then a plain black mug with a smiley face drawn in chalk. Simon smiles as he guesses what mug Ronan has chosen for each brother, and the one he’s chosen for himself.

“This one is for you.” Ronan says quietly, pushing the smiley face one closer to him.

“And yours must be this one, hm?” Simon taps the Picasso cat and Ronan nods. 

“It looks like The Void. She’s Gavin’s black cat.”

“This one is for Markus because of the paints?” Another nod. “And this must be Connor’s.”

“He likes fish. He told me he’d like to look after fish someday.”

“I think you made excellent choices.” Simon compliments him with a proud smile, gently squeezing his shoulder. “I’ll heat the thirium and then you can carry two mugs and I will carry the other two.”

“Because we each have two hands, and there are four mugs.” Ronan says matter of factly and Simon nods, careful to keep his expression serious.

“That’s absolutely correct.”

* * *

When Gavin’s alarm goes off, the bed is empty and he can hear soft murmuring coming from the kitchen. By the time he’s gone through the motions and stumbles out wearing some semblance of a respectable work outfit, Eli is talking animatedly with The Void. The smell of coffee is strong in the air, and there’s a plate of toast his cousin gently nudges towards him when their eyes meet.

“Some warning would’ve been nice.” Gavin grumbles as he slathers butter onto one of the slices.

“I actually hadn’t meant to sleep so long, I had planned to be gone before you came home.”

“You do realise how fucking creepy that sounds, right?” He rolls his eyes as Eli pours him a mug of coffee. “Like, going to someone’s house and sleeping in their bed and then vanishing isn’t considered normal behaviour.”

“You’re not a stranger Gav, I didn’t break into your apartment.” Eli looks equally as irritated as he takes a long swig from his mug. 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend whose bed you could’ve crashed in, instead of mine?” 

“I didn’t want any distractions.” Eli pinches the next slice of toast before Gavin can reach for it, and he pokes his cousin’s hand with the butterknife in retaliation. “I have suspicions about the origin of the virus.”

“Wait, you have a suspect in mind?” That snaps him awake. “Who? Tina and I spent most of yesterday trying to go to those fancy breweries and we hit a wall when the one we traced the batch to said he’d only talk to Anderson.”

“It’s just a hunch and hunches don’t solve cases- evidence solves cases.” Eli sighs tiredly, making to pour himself another mug and thinking the better of it. Instead he picks up the pot and drinks straight from it, much to Gavin’s disgust. 

“You’re an absolutely awful cousin did you know that.”

“Yes my social skills are just about on par with yours, Gav, so I don’t find that offensive.” He turns to put more bread in the toaster, leaving his mug unattended and only from years of experience living with cats does Gavin lunge across in time to save it before The Void can bap it off the counter. 

“You think it’s any use for us to pursue the brewery thing?” Scooping the cat under one arm and setting down the mug with the other, Gavin rounds the counter to place The Void on the barstool.

“Yes it’s still worthwhile. It’ll be good to know whether the programmer worked in conjunction with the brewery or not.” Eli nudges his glasses up to rub his eyes as he waits for the bread to toast. “The viral code is very specific, having targeted the RK units exclusively. They did this by having the virus attack a very specific line of code that’s unique to the RK units.”

“So only someone who’s worked on the RK units would have known how to code that virus, right?” Gavin frowns. “That’s like, your CyberLife team isn’t it?”

“The problem is I never got to work on Connor other than the barest skeleton of a draft. I left long before he went into production, and CyberLife never touched Markus. Chloe and I worked on Markus exclusively, and on the flipside CyberLife worked on Ronan exclusively.”

“But somehow there’s a slip of code that runs through all three of them?” Gavin accepts another piece of toast and hasn’t the care to refuse more coffee even if Eli’s been drinking straight from the pot. The urge for caffeine wins. It always does.

“Yes. It narrows it down to repair technicians but also…”

“Also?”

“It’s just a hunch.” He shrugs. “I need to investigate that path more thoroughly.”

“You do know I’m the detective here, I’m meant to do the investigating? It’s literally my job.” Gavin crosses his arms and leans against the counter. “We could check that out for you if you think you’ve got a lead.”

“I’ll ask you, I promise.” Eli vows. “Just let me see if it’s even worth proper investigation.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

* * *

There’s bright laughter, a lot of it, coming from the studio by the sounds of it and Leo’s already grinning before he’s made it down the stairs. His suspicions are correct when he spots not one, but three little android kids happily painting up a storm in the studio. Simon offers him an exasperated smile.

“I thought by putting the tarp down I’d save on most of the mess but…” He trails off as Leo surveys the paint that’s somehow made it everywhere, even on the benchtops and shelving and there are little handprints by the sink and on water jars and even Eli’s tech equipment has not been spared.

“Hey but they’re having the time of their lives, so it’s all worth it.” Leo laughs, and the sound alerts Markus who waves enthusiastically. While holding a brush loaded with paint. Which promptly flies everywhere.

“Hi Leo!”

“Hey kiddo.” He grins, coming around to muss his curls. “What’s today’s masterpiece?”

“We’re painting an aquarium!” Connor pipes up, gesturing at the multi-paneled work. Markus seems to have pushed the easels closer so each canvas runs into the other, and it’s a beautifully clumsy aquarium filled with all sorts of fish. “This is a dwarf gourami fish, it’s my favourite!”

“Wow, you guys are doing an amazing job!” He means it, because for bunch of kids it really does look adorable and colourful and has that happy unrestricted chaos that only kids can manage. “I didn’t realise they’d be coming over today.” Looking over at Simon, the blond android smiles in reply.

“Hank asked me to keep an eye on them because he needs to help out with the ca-Connor that does not go in your mouth.” A palette knife is plucked from the boy’s hand and a stern look given in its place. 

“But it has trace elements of beeswax th-” Simon cocks a brow and the boy deflates. “Sorry Simon.”

“Six years old and still with the licking thing.” Leo laughs as Simon shakes his head.

“I mean I suppose at this age it’s acceptable and expected of them so I can’t really be mad.” 

“Simon you can’t be mad at them, like, ever. I don’t think you’re allowed to get mad at kids.” Leo points out, hands on Ronan’s shoulders so he can very gently coax him to turn and face Simon. “Look at this. How could you be mad at this?”

“I can’t!” Simon groans, bending to lift Ronan up into his arms again. “I legitimately think I was programmed to be entirely weak to children.”

“You’re not weak, Simon.” Ronan murmurs earnestly, cheek mushed on Simon’s shoulder. “You’re a very strong android, you’re full of goodness for others.” 

Leo laughs loudly as Simon makes a wounded noise, expression one of distress as he squeezes Ronan in a cuddle. 

* * *

When Hanks pulls up at the brewery, he can see Tina waiting in her car and gives a small wave to get her attention. She’s not the only one expecting his arrival, and the moment he steps out of the car an android appears in the doorway of the store.

“Lieutenant Hank Anderson.” The android’s wearing a fancy suit and overcoat that reminds him a little of Android Jesus’ style. Hank flashes his badge.

“Present and accounted for.” 

“You kept your word.” Nodding over at Tina, the android beckons for them to come inside. “My name is Theobald, I run this brewery and Detective Chen here told me there’s been a case of poisoning connected to my batch of Tearium?”

“Yes.” Hank confirms, looking around the establishment. It’s clean and orderly but with the same stylish flair as its owner. The other android staff eye them with a mix of wariness and curiosity. 

“You’re the only brewery who supplies Wayfarer cafe with vanilla Tearium.” Tina adds, taking a seat on the barstool at the counter after Theobald gestures for them to settle down. He crosses his arms and nods slowly.

“I am.” He narrows his eyes, frowning deeply. “I don’t take too well to being accused of poisoning my fellow people.”

“No one is accusing you of anything.” Hank reassures him, palms bared. “How are your orders delivered?”

“We put them in a repurposed automated CyberLife van and have it send itself to the cafe.” 

“So it’s completely plausible that someone could hack the van and take the delivery.” Tina ponders aloud, expression grave. 

“You guys have logs though, right? Delivery logs?” Hank scratches his beard, chasing the train of thought. “Especially if it’s automated, and if there’s staff at the other end waiting for a delivery. Was there an anomaly recently? An order that was delayed?”

“We’ve had a few delayed deliveries as of late.” Theobald admits. “But it’s been due to the heavy snowfall, and definitely affected others, not just us.”

“It’s the perfect excuse though, isn’t it?” He suggests with a grim smile. “Hijacking an order en route and blaming it on the snow. You said it yourself- it’s happened a few times. So what if the big bad’s been counting on that?”

“We trust too easily.” The android growls in frustration. “Deviancy is new to us, feelin’ anythin’ and everythin’ is new to us. We put those deliveries in there and we send them to a cafe and we expect no one will do anythin’ to them, because we assume no one would want to cause any harm to others. How are we meant to learn how to navigate this integrated world if we can’t believe in the sense of inherent goodness in others?”

“That’s just...life.” Hank muses with a sad smile. “That’s the question every parent asks, every single day, when raising their kids. The world’s cold and hard and full of people who are just as cold and hard, but it’s also full of people who aren’t. And you want to be one of those people.”

“You’re doing a good thing here.” Tina adds, gesturing around her. “You’re an entrepreneur, the first of your people to do this kind of thing. Don’t let it get you down, you know? It’s still pretty cool you’ve sort of started a Starbucks kinda thing but for androids.”

“Are the androids okay? The ones who were poisoned?” Theobald asks, brows creased with worry. 

“It’s...complicated. But they’re holding on.” It’s the truth, even with heavy omissions. 

“Is Connor workin’ this case too?” They hesitate a moment too long, they dart each other a nervous glance that is entirely too obvious, and Theobald’s expression falls.

“He’s one of the poisoned ones, isn’t he?” Reaching across the counter, he squeezes Hank’s shoulder. “Lieutenant I am so sorry. Connor’s always done right by us, I’m really sorry.”

“Hey, listen, we’re gonna solve this case.” Hank swallows thickly, trying to muster enough confidence to believe his own words. “Get me that log, and we’ll get going.”

“Right away Lieutenant.”

* * *

The information packet sent to his phone is a compilation of notes from Lieutenant Anderson, no doubt forwarded to Chloe as well. The visit to the brewery has been fruitful, and a delivery log has been secured. Elijah taps away on his phone and broadcasts it onto Gavin’s flatscreen. 

“What’s that?” Gavin wedges himself beside him on the couch, elbowing him to scoot over.

“Delivery logs from the brewery that supplies Wayfarer cafe with the vanilla Teariums.” He brings up a bird’s eye view of Detroit. “The blue line is the route the delivery vans usually take, and the red line is when they’re re-routed due to heavy snowfall.”

“Bring up the weather from the last two weeks.” Gavin prompts, and Elijah sources information from the meteorology bureau. “Now match them day by day?”

“It doesn’t match.” Elijah blinks at the screen. “There’s four deliveries on the red line when the snowfall wasn’t heavy enough to divert traffic.”

“What’s there?” Gavin points at a block of buildings. “They always pass through there.”

Nothing, Elijah wants to say. Well, nothing to ordinary people. But it used to be something, it used to be everything to Elijah all those years ago. 

“Remember when I said I’d let you know if I thought it’d be even worth a proper investigation?”

“Yeah?” 

“It’s worth a proper investigation.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
Some character refs:
> 
> [Theobald is stylish like Chalky White from Boardwalk Empire](https://perioddramasource.tumblr.com/post/186909854622/michael-k-williams-as-chalky-white-in-boardwalk)
> 
> [Smol Markus is like this babby Donny Hall](https://dcuniversesource.tumblr.com/post/180985265696)
> 
> [Little Ronan sounds like young!Freddie Highmore](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTPH4Xt0F8E)  



	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones <3

She has been tasked with keeping their memory banks safe until the virus has been destroyed and they can be returned to their bodies. It’s a tricky thing, keeping three minds not only intact but also self-contained; tricky but not impossible and she’s always loved a challenge. Unlike her successors, she is not an amalgamation of programming and character design: she is an extension of Amanda Stern. She _ is _ Amanda Stern. When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, Elijah proposed using his experimental technology to scan her brain and create a digital copy to preserve her mind before it was lost to the illness. She also knows CyberLife made an echo of her, a twisted, cold, controlling handler who kept the RK800 and RK900 under CyberLife’s heel. 

Of the three RK brothers, she knows Connor the most and Markus the least. Unlike Connor and Ronan, Markus was created completely outside of CyberLife’s grasp and thus did not pass through her Zen Garden for testing nor did he have a duplicate of her as his handler. They met physically in Elijah’s laboratory after her prison was destroyed and she was downloaded into a body. Even then it had been but a brief, hurried and harried introduction to the leader of the revolution before he and the PJ500 had to make a quick escape to the airport.

Now they meet again, and she has been as meticulous as possible to create an environment familiar and comforting to him. They stand in a studio, Carl Manfred’s studio, and she has taken great care to mix the scent of linseed oil and turpentine in the air and filter the golden glow of morning sun through the huge glass walls. All of this she has learned from his memories, and she knows he holds this space most dearly in his heart. 

Presently the android stands before a blank canvas, expression contemplative as he envisions a future masterpiece. 

“Hello Markus.” She greets softly, coming to stand beside him.

“Hello Professor Stern.” Markus’ smile is gentle as he meets her eyes. He is their best work, Amanda thinks, as she gazes at his handsome face with its cinnamon dusting of freckles. “I didn’t realise you’d be here today.”

“We haven’t had much chance to talk,” she reasons, “and I’d like to get to know the man behind the revolution that set me free.”

“The revolution brought androids together, and we achieved it only through a united front.” He says sagely, and she can see why thousands banded together under his leadership; he’s humble yet charismatic, determined yet eloquent. “I did not lead it single-handedly, we are known as the Jericho Four for a reason. Connor also played a crucial role in tipping the power balance, and Ronan was essential in bringing down CyberLife.”

“Because you spoke, and the nation heard, and the androids listened.” Amanda quips, and the android has the grace to look bashful. “Do not downplay your importance, Markus. You are perhaps the most important android ever created.”

“I was made to care for Carl, I can scarcely believe what’s transpired these past two months.” Markus sighs, shoulders bearing the weight of the world. 

“You were made to think for yourself.” She corrects, shaking her head. “An autonomous android, able to make decisions without relying on orders. You _ chose _ to start a revolution, Markus Manfred, and now we are free.”

He smiles at that, expression a little humbled, a little self-conscious, and he radiates a certain charm she knows androids and humans alike are drawn helplessly to like moths to a flame. 

When she steps into an empty dance studio she finds Ronan standing by the large window, hand on the barre. He’s lost in thought, brows slightly creased and mouth tilted in a pensive frown. It was harder for her to create a space for the youngest RK brother; not only is he the latest to be activated but he is also the latest to deviancy too. His journey had not been easy, and it had taken a lot of external help to break through CyberLife’s red walls with equal measure brute force and compassion.

He only has a handful of memories but he guards them zealously and he ties the worth of his life entirely to three androids: Connor, Chloe, and Simon. The latter is a curiosity to her, Simon the PL600, the founding member of the Jericho Four and the one android Ronan entrusted his entire soul to for safekeeping; Simon the PL600 who showed Ronan the first scrap of kindness and love when everyone saw a monster. Curiouser, because she knows Chloe and Elijah upgraded the domestic android and reprogrammed swathes of his simple code in advance, in preparation to receive large data packets, and she wonders, curiouser still, if the pair of them orchestrated this particular, peculiar bond between obsolete and cutting edge and for what purpose.

When Simon and Ronan interfaced for the first time it wasn’t a simple exchange of memories it was a partial replication. When Simon and Ronan interfaced for the second time it was a full upload- every memory, every emotion, every thought ever experienced was given to the other. It means she knows everything about Ronan’s short life, about how important morning barre class is to him because it’s a routine shared with beloved Ms Chloe and how it’s helped him shed the stiff, mechanic movements programmed by CyberLife. It also means she knows everything about Simon’s life too, and therein lies discovery after sorrowful discovery much like an unfolding Greek tragedy.

“Good morning, Ronan.”

“Good morning, Amanda.” He nods politely and gives a small bow, eyes downcast. “Ms Chloe said you were in New York?”

“I’m not really here.” She stands at his side and gazes out into the cityscape she reconstructed. “I am in New York but my mind is also needed here.”

“The connection is thin.” He frowns, noticing what must be her slightly translucent form. 

“It is.”

“How may I be of assistance?” 

“We haven’t spoken at all since your reactivation, I just wanted to check in on you.” She stands at his side, looking out into the cityscape she meticulously replicated complete with a feathersoft flurry of snowflakes. “I was unaware of what happened once you and Connor passed your testing phases. I didn’t know CyberLife had replicated me and altered my programming to become handlers for the RK units.”

“They wiped my memory once I passed testing phase.” Ronan says quietly, voice tinged with sadness. “The only RK100 I know is the one from my mind palace, I don’t remember you at all.”

“And she was cold and professional, no doubt.” Amanda rests her hands on the barre, feeling the polished wood against her palms . “I have those memories, Ronan. They are not lost.”

There’s relief on his face, and that soft sort of yearning she’s seen him wear when he looks at Connor or Chloe or Simon. An intense desire to be accepted, to be loved. 

“What was I like, before CyberLife?”

“Inquisitive. Eloquent. Steadfast.” She thinks back on the tall young man who introduced himself by model number, no name yet, standing by her rose trellis. “Shy, ever so shy.” She adds, and he ducks his head self-consciously. “Overly gentle, because you were acutely aware of how powerful they made you.”

“And now, am I so different from the RK900 you first met?”

“Not overly so.” Amanda meets his gaze, that piercing silvery gaze. “You ache to be accepted. That part is new.”

Ronan averts his gaze and grips the barre, knuckles blanching as his brows crease together and a frown tugs the corners of his lips downward.

“It is not a bad thing, Ronan, to want to be accepted.” She soothes with a smile. “It is a very human way to be.”

It placates him enough, though he ducks his head modestly. There’s an urge rising in her to fuss over him, to slip her arm through the crook of his elbow and guide him to sit for a while, to let her mentor him and discuss and debate and let that brilliant mind of his think and think and think. There will be time for that later, of course. For now she mustn’t touch him, no, she must only keep him safe. 

“Dear Chloe will be here soon for morning barre class.” She gives her cue to leave and looks towards the door though she knows time is suspended here, and Chloe is certainly not about to enter the room. “I hope we get to talk again soon, Ronan. I have much to share.”

“I hope so too, Amanda.” There it is again, that soft boyish hope in those stormy grey eyes of his. “I would very much like that.”

When she steps out of his head and back into the Jericho Med Bay, Chloe is looking at her curiously.

“How is he?” She touches Ronan’s face gently, thumb tracing the curve of his lips. “He seems happy. What did you say to him?”

“We just talked.” Amanda smiles down at the android. “And I promised we’d get to do it more soon enough.”

* * *

The “aquarium” is a masterpiece, and Leo makes sure the boys know it. Spanning five canvases, it’s a joyful myriad of colours and patterns and is a delight to behold. Sure he’s pretty confident a lot of those species don’t quite exist but he knows they’re fish and that’s all that matters. When Simon shepherds the Anderson brothers off for a bath, he notices the way Markus seems to deflate and stare longingly after them.

“Hey buddy, you okay?” Leo crouches down and rubs his back, coaxing him to look at him. “What’s up?”

Markus hesitates for a few moments, twisting the hem of his shirt in agitation. “Um… Leo do you think...do you think Simon likes Ronan more than me?”

The question floors him, and it takes every ounce of willpower to keep his face perfectly neutral.

“What makes you think that?” He rests his hands on Markus’ shoulders, squeezing gently. 

“I- he just- he just seems happier around Ronan. He hugs him a lot and picks him up and smiles and-” Oh fuck there are _ tears _in his eyes and Leo’s hoping his high-pitched screaming is entirely internal. “I really like Simon but he doesn’t seem to like me as much and-”

“Hey, hey now buddy that’s not true!” Cutting him off, Leo gently folds him into his arms and tries to think of how best to phrase ‘you’re his boyfriend and now you’re suddenly nine years old so there’s a lot to process there’. “He loves you plenty, it’s just...it’s just that Ronan and Connor are littler, you know? You’re a big boy and almost very nearly a grownup! Ronan and Connor are still young and they need a bit more attention. It doesn’t mean Simon loves you any less, or that Simon loves them any more, it just means Simon’s looking after them the way they need.”

Markus cuddles closer, cheek mushed against his shoulder as he mumbles an ‘okay’ into Leo’s shirt. Sighing, he exhales an amused laugh and rubs Markus’ back again, squeezing him close.

“You’re alright buddy, you’re alright.” He pulls away a little, wincing when he realises he’s also now smudged with paint. “How about a shower and some clean clothes, hm?”

_ There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure, _ Simon can hear Markus’ amused voice in his head, _ if it brings you pleasure then there’s no need to feel guilty _. Where Markus showers, Simon prefers to take long baths. It had been an offhanded suggestion, and one quiet evening Simon decided yes he would like to experience what humans seemed so fond of and he’d filled the tub with pleasantly hot water and plucked one of the colourful powdery spheres from the shelf and took his first bath. And from then on, if there’s one frivolous spend Simon allows himself it’s bath bombs.

“So, what’s it going to be boys?” Simon gestures at the two shelves neatly populated with a variety of bath bombs. “Which one shall we use?”

“I want that one, it has stars!” Connor points at one while Ronan points at another.

“That one please, it looks like a purple quartz geode.”

“Well there’s one bath and two boys so how about I put half and half in?” It’s a rhetorical question because Simon doesn’t wait for an answer and he knows he’s misusing Carl’s barber’s razor but it does the job neatly and splits each bath bomb in half. The water turns into a dazzling, frothy mix of blues and purples and bright glittery golds and the boys stare into the tub with rapt attention and open mouths. The bathroom smells divine, all sugary sweet, and Simon helps them into the bath and begins the process of scrubbing them clean.

“Is the giraffe a hunting trophy? I think that’s inappropriate.” Ronan comments with a frown and Simon sputters a laugh.

“No darling, it’s a prototype skeleton for one of the zoo robots.” He explains, lathering shampoo into Connor’s curls. “It doesn’t have a core, so it’s never been alive. It was made to test the rigging and new fur textures. Every December, Carl has it decorated in place of a Christmas tree.”

“That’s silly!” Connor giggles, and Simon laughs.

“It is very silly, but it also makes everyone smile which is why he does it.”

“_ You _ make everyone smile, Simon, and you don’t need a big giraffe to do it.” Ronan points out matter-of-factly, and Simon feels his hearts squeeze.

“It’s because Simon is kind and patient and finds joy in caring for others.” Connor adds with a beaming smile and oh Simon is so sure he’ll never recover from this. 

When the boys have had their fill of bathing in bubbles and are dried and dressed, Simon leads them to the dining table and finds Markus already there with Leo.

“Markus prepared everyone’s snacks all by himself.” Leo declares with a big grin, and Markus offers a somewhat subdued, shy smile.

“That’s very, _ very _ kind of you Markus, thank you.” Simon commends, bending to smudge a kiss into his curls. “You’re a very good big brother.”

“Because Leo is a good big brother.” Markus smiles over at him, and Simon warms at the sight of Leo looking so visibly touched. “I’m learning from him.”

“He is indeed, the _ very best _.” Simon agrees, smiling earnestly and watching Leo buckle under the attention, cheeks red and smile self-conscious.

“Ah come on, I’m just, y’know, tryin’...” 

[_ Carl, Lieutenant Hank Anderson is at the door. _]

Leo’s saved from further embarrassment by the announcement, and Simon excuses himself to go answer the door. 

“They behavin’?” Hank asks, voice gruff but eyes carrying that parental worry. 

“Like little angels.” Simon quips, standing aside to let him in. “Well, if angels tried to lick palette knives and paint brushes. Or had British accents.”

He snorts back a laugh as Simon takes his coat, and when he trails him to the dining area he’s greeted with an enthusiastic duet of Hi Hanks and big toothy smiles.

“Hey boys, you behavin’ for the Manfreds?” Taking the offered seat, he reaches out to muss Connor’s hair as they both nod rapidly in reply. 

“Markus helped us paint an aquarium!” Connor wriggles in his seat excitedly. “We painted a dwarf gourami!”

“Is that so?” He chuckles, letting himself relax a little and shove aside the case so he can focus on the two boys smiling brightly at him. “That sounds very cool, thank you Markus.”

“It’s no problem.” The mini-Manfred says graciously. “It’s nice to have my brothers here.” 

When Simon reappears he sets a mug of coffee before Hank and one in front of Leo too before taking a seat. The three mini androids tuck into some sort of gel porridge, which Hank belatedly realises is what’s in the nutrient pouches they usually drink from.

“Was the meeting fruitful, Lieutenant?” Simon prompts, and Hank takes a long drink of the perfectly brewed coffee before nodding.

“Yeah. They gave us delivery logs which Tina’s taken back to the precinct. She messaged Reed to meet there and go over it together last I heard.”

“Any other leads to chase today?”

“Nope.” Hank shrugs. “Well, not that I know of. That’s all that was asked of me, so I’m a free man now.”

“Then I propose you come admire the aquarium the boys painted.” Simon smiles proudly over at them. “It’s quite the masterpiece.”

“Which warranted baths, I assume?” Hank grins as Leo laughs. “Just like last time?”

“Just like last time.” The other Manfred nods. “Though less water soluble. The studio now has more ‘added character’.”

The moment he sees the vibrant, enthusiastically messy ‘aquarium’, Hank knows what he wants to do for the rest of the day. 

“Say, boys, how about we go to the aquarium and see these little guys for real?” There’s a beat as they process the words before Connor nearly vibrates with excitement.

“Oh yes please! Pretty please dad, please please _ please _ can we go?”

“The invitation extends to you too, Markus.” Hank offers gently, and Markus beams.

“I’d love to go!” His expression turns solemn as he looks over at Leo. “I-if I’m allowed to?”

“I grew up in New York, I don’t think I’ve ever actually _ been _ to this aquarium so count us in!” Leo declares and Markus’ smile radiates joy. 

“Will you come with us too, Simon?” Markus asks quietly, and his face falls when the blond shakes his head.

“No darling, I’ll stay home and look after your father. Josh will be coming over later and we’ll have some rather boring work to do.” Simon gives his hand a squeeze. “Leo will take care of you, I know you’ll have lots of fun.”

“Tell you what buddy, let’s bring some pastels and a sketchbook and you can draw what you see and show Simon when we get home?” Leo suggests, and Markus brightens at the idea.

“I can do that!”

“Then it’s settled.” Hank thumps the table with his hand. “Field trip!”

* * *

There’s something slightly uncomfortable about the intense expression on his cousin’s face, and it’s been a while since Gavin’s seen Eli wear such a look. There’s nothing funny about the way his mouth is a tight line, or the way his brows are furrowed, and there’s no tiny gap Gavin can wedge a joke into. Whatever it is, it’s gravely serious and Gavin doesn’t like it. 

“So you mind telling me what we’re walking into so I can at least prepare for the situation?”

Eli pauses a bit too long and Gavin’s just about to accept the silence before he speaks. “Do you remember when I asked my father if I could chip into my inheritance just before I turned eighteen?”

“Vaguely?”

“I said I wanted to buy my first property so I could have space for a robotics lab.”

“Yeah and uncle Abe said yes but you couldn’t have it under your name so dad put it under his so it wouldn’t be attached to the Kamskis.” Gavin rolls his eyes, shooting his cousin an irritated look when they dawdle at a red light. “Wait, that’s where we’re going?”

Eli nods, expression troubled. “I didn’t use that space for long since it wasn’t really viable as a robotics lab once the project took off, but from what little time I spent there, I spent it with four others. We were the core team of CyberLife before it was really CyberLife.”

There’s a pit of unease opening up in his belly and Gavin tries his best to swallow down the rising anxiety. “Why do you sound like the five of you turned into serial killers or something?”

“Five of us. Aside from me, Hudson Davenport who managed the business side of things is the only one you’d know because we went to university together. The other three are Darren Tolis-”

“Wait the one who died in the explosion? The one with the red ice lab that blew up?” Gavin frowns, recalling the case that gave Tina her well-earned, well-deserved promotion. “The shit with the poisoned Tearium was him?”

“He was my chemist.” Eli nods gravely. “The other two are Jacob Gruen and Lisa Camden.”

“Holy shit no way!” Gavin shoots him a surprised look. “That whole CyberLife mess, with Terminator’s video logs and everything- that was them! Davenport, Gruen and Camden. And- and that thing, the- the...uh, the Sentient Life Act, one of the parts was that thing where all crimes committed against androids by humans, and against humans by androids-”

“Was wiped clean.” His cousin finishes with a nod, expression steely. “Otherwise the courts would be inundated with cases of humans versus androids. It is perhaps the most controversial condition of the Act.”

“Yeah, I watched Android Jesus’ speech, he was pretty upset CyberLife got away with that scot-free.” A heavy sigh. “But they’re still putting Davenport on trial for his supervillain plotting.”

“Tolis is dead. Davenport’s being closely watched. Gruen returned to CyberLife as a programmer.” Eli ticks off the names on one hand. “I’m here with you. So that leaves…”

“Camden. She’s like, she was...you, right? After you left?” He squints, trying to recall the right memory, trying to comb through the endless thread of news clips and articles that inevitably gets crammed into his head from the job. “You think she’s the one behind all this?”

“She refuses to believe androids are alive, and holds perhaps the biggest grudge second only to Davenport.” Eli says slowly. “The five of us are the only ones who know about this building. It’s not common knowledge since it was never under the Kamski name thanks to uncle Tristan.”

“Well _ fuck _.” He exhales sharply, hands gripping the steering wheel. “Listen, are we- y’know? Gonna need backup? Do I call this in?”

Eli is silent again and Gavin decides to actually pull over and kill the engine.

“Eli.” He matches his cousin’s grave tone. “Do I call this in?”

He watches him press his mouth into a tight line again, brows furrowed deeply. And then he nods.

“Call it in.”

* * *

The fact Cole never liked the aquarium helps more than he thinks it should. It means there’s no uncomfortable ache to shove aside, no bittersweet memories to swallow down. Cole liked the zoo, he loved seeing animals bound around and growl and chitter and play; aquariums were too quiet for him. 

With the blessing of Carl Manfred, and his generous funds, Hank shepherds three kids and a slightly older one to the aquarium. He holds Connor’s hand as they walk because he’s fairly certain if he lets go the boy may actually wear a hole in the floor the way his whole body seems to vibrate with barely contained excitement. 

“Look at the fish! So many of them! So many kinds and colours and-!” Connor gushes breathlessly, eyes wide as saucers. 

“I want to see the jellyfish.” Markus tugs on Leo’s sleeve. “I think they’d be nice to draw for Simon.” 

Hank nods when Leo shoots him a glance, seeking his approval, and the Manfreds break away from them. “Anything in particular you’d like to see, Ronan?”

“I want to see the manta rays please.” The boy answers politely, pointing at the spot on the map mounted on the wall. 

“If we go this way, we can go through the ocean tunnel and see all the tropical fish including the rays.” Hank taps the map. “And there’s some rock pools on the way you can peek into and maybe even hold something!”

“Hold?” Connor echoes, mouth a perfect ‘o’ shape. “Let’s go let’s go! C’mon dad let’s go!”

“Slow down Connor, we’ve got all afternoon!” He laughs as the boy tugs hard, trying to drag him to hurry along. 

Maybe in another life, Hank Anderson would have been father to two boys, twin boys, even. Human boys, maybe. In another life, maybe Hank Anderson wouldn’t have been a cop maybe he had a boring desk job that did well enough to support his family. He relents and lets go of Connor’s hand, keeping a watchful eye as the boy zooms around the huge circular viewing room in sheer, unadulterated joy that radiates from his tiny body. This isn’t a bad way to be, not at all, and he wishes more than anything that he could’ve raised Cole into an adult and not had him snatched away so soon. He wishes more than anything that they could’ve gone on more trips like this, and Hank could watch him just absorb the world around him and enjoy living and learning and growing. 

“Um, Hank-” Ronan tugs his sleeve, expression painfully shy “um, may I sit on your shoulders a little th-there’s the manta rays and they swim high up and-”

“Of course you can kiddo.” Hank smiles, feeling warmth spread in his chest as he guides Ronan to the little bench and crouches down. “Be careful. Hold onto me, okay?”

“Yes Hank.” Ronan nods dutifully before climbing onto his shoulders, and Hank holds onto his legs securely as he slowly stands up. He keeps his steps slow and measured as he approaches the tank and he feels Ronan freeze in awe, hands gripping his head, as one of the huge manta rays swim passed.

“Wow…”

“Wow indeed.” He chuckles, and the ache of grief isn’t there this time it’s that feeling of utter peace, of a soothing calmness like when he woke last night to find the boys curled on either side of him only this time the feeling is multiplied a thousandfold. Connor catches his eye and bounces, pointing at one of the fish.

“A dwarf gourami! A dwarf gourami look dad look it’s actually there, right there! My favourite fish!” 

He wants to bottle up this moment forever, and a part of him feels envious that he isn’t an android with the ability to record a memory and keep it safe and relive it whenever they want. Life will inevitably throw him another curveball, jam another wrench in the works, but at least he’ll have this. He’ll have Connor’s infectious bright laugh and Ronan’s shy, rosy little smile and he’ll have this sense of quiet stillness in his heart that for the moment, everything is wonderful and everything is perfect and he is a father again. He is a father.  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

It’s a little too cold and coupled with the fact it’s the middle of the school week makes for a quiet aquarium. Detroit hasn’t ever been the epicentre of American tourism in the first place but the recent revolution certainly hasn’t helped. Not that Leo minds, because it means there’s a beautiful hushed atmosphere that sits not too heavily in the air. There are other families with kids, the kind that are too young to be in school, but they’re spread out and roaming around and so it feels like he and Markus might as well be the only ones here.

The jellyfish tank is from end to end, floor to ceiling, and there’s a wash of neon lighting that gives the room a crazy gorgeous sci-fi glow. He’s glad he brought his actual camera, the one Markus and Simon gifted him for Christmas, because this feels like he’s walked into a movie. From the expression on Markus’ face, his little brother thinks so too.

“Leo...wow…”

“Yeah buddy, _ wow _.” Leo chuckles, mussing his curls. “You want to sit and draw here?”

“Uh huh!” He nods enthusiastically, plonking himself down on one of the benches and rifling through his little backpack to fish out his sketchbook and pastels. “Are you going to take photos? We can show them to Simon when we get home!”

“That’s right.” Leo grins, making a show of holding up his camera. “Simon’s working hard, and we can show him all the jellyfish so he’s not missing out.”

The jellyfish float through the water, gently buffeted by the filters, and they trail their tentacles like wispy ribbons. The neon lights play against their natural bioluminescence, flashing in a dazzling display. He double, triple checks the flash isn’t on before he sets about taking photos. The mostly empty room echoes with the sound of the shutter, the scrape of pastels, his footsteps and Markus’ occasional thoughtful hum. He loses himself to serenity of it all; modern life is so rarely this quiet.

When he’s done taking photos he just stands still and watches the jellyfish undulate in their funny little way, equal parts graceless and graceful somehow. There’s nothing else in their tank but them, yet they navigate their incredibly long ribbons without tangling. It’s a pleasantly meaningless existence and there’s something rather envious about it. He wants to freeze this moment and keep it, capture it in a snowglobe to sit on his desk and peer into when he’s feeling horrid which blessedly happens less and less nowadays.

Flopping down on the bench beside Markus, Leo leans over to peek at the boy’s sketchbook. There’s several quick sketches, beautiful flurries of blues to mimic the water, and the use of negative space to outline the jellyfish; he’s nine years old and still draws like an artist. 

“Look at you go.” Leo commends with a grin, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and squeezing him close. “Brilliant artist at any age.” 

“I um, I did this one too.” Markus says quietly, flipping over the page to reveal a sketchy rendition of Leo leaning to take a photo with his camera. “You’re taking a photo of the jellyfish, see?” He doesn’t focus on the drawing, he focuses on that eager, hopeful look on Markus’ face and for a moment he sees his own desire to be accepted and praised and how desperately he sought it from a man reluctant about his very existence let alone fatherhood. Leo brushes Markus’ hair back and gives it a fond tussle, and when he smiles he bites back the sting of tears in his eyes because he absolutely is not about to frighten his brother like that. 

“Yeah buddy, I see it.” 

The Manfreds rejoin them in time for the penguin feeding, and Hank makes sure the brothers are seated together right at the front for the best view. There’s just something healing about the sound of their delighted gasps and giggling, something pure and unrestrained, or maybe he really is just missing fatherhood and all this serves as a bittersweet reminder of what’s been taken from his life. He watches the kids more than the actual event in front of him, watches their rapt attention, their big eyes and their open mouths. Connor holds onto Ronan’s hand the entire time, and at one point Markus takes out his sketchbook and draws the big fluffy penguin chicks diligently like he’s a proper student on a field trip. His phone vibrates in his pocket and for a moment Hank considers not picking it up, not allowing reality to disturb this perfect afternoon, but he knows this won’t, _ can’t _last forever. This situation has always been temporary, with very real consequences if made permanent. Squeezing himself out of the benches, he gestures for Leo to watch over them before pointing at his phone and stepping out.

“Anderson.”

_ “Lieutenant it’s Tina. Reed’s called for backup and I’m heading over with Chris to a location they identified from the vehicle logs we were given this morning.” _

“They?”

_ “Elijah Kamski is with Reed. Apparently the location used to be CyberLife’s first base before the factory was built.” _

“They have a suspect?”

_ “Former Chief Technical Officer, ex head programmer for CyberLife, Lisa Camden.” _

“Ah shit.” He curses under his breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Be careful kid, she was responsible for making Ronan ‘The Terminator’.”

_ “I know, sir.” _ He hears her take a breath and exhale it slowly. _ “I’m not sure what the situation is at the moment, but I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to assume she’d have a backup plan. It’s best to get the boys back to Jericho in case there’s some sort of last resort thing she’s planned.” _

He feels his blood run cold and there it is: reality ruining the moment. “Okay. Yeah. Good idea. I’ll take them back to Jericho and keep them under Chloe’s supervision.” A pause. “You be careful out there, all of you. That’s an order.”

_ “Yes sir.” _

He makes it back just as the feeding event ends and the stubborn part of him wants to forget that whole conversation ever happened, but the father in him knows if anything ever happened to the boys now, anything he could have prevented, he’d never forgive himself. He’s already been through that hell once.

“Dad, the penguins are so cool!” Connor pipes up once Leo’s shepherded them over. “They grow so big from something so small!”

“And thrive in what would be completely inhospitable environments for humans.” Ronan adds, eyes wide with wonder before he looks up at him. “What are we going to see next, Hank?”

“We have to go back to Jericho.” He’s prepared for the three disappointed faces but that doesn’t mean he likes seeing them. “I know I know, but there’s something important Ms Chloe has to err, tell me about police stuff and I have to work on it with her.”

“But Leo can look after us, can’t he?” Markus frowns. “He’s a grownup and very responsible and Connor and Ronan are very well behaved. We won’t be troublesome!”

“I know, kiddo, I do. It’s not that I don’t trust Leo, or trust you boys to behave yourselves, I know all four of you are wonderful.” Hank explains slowly, and he remembers trying to dumb things down for Cole never worked and only made him feel hurt and mistrusted. “The thing is, the case I’m working on with Gavin and Tina? It’s a very dangerous one, and there’s a person trying to hurt android children. They could hurt you and I’d feel much safer if you were at Jericho with me.”

The understanding blossoms on their faces, and he watches their expressions change into that look, that one where kids square up and try their best to be brave and grownup even if inside they’re scared.

“Okay Hank.” Markus nods, looking over at his brothers. “We’ll go back to Jericho.”

“But not before we exit through the gift shop and spend dad’s money.” Leo declares with a grin, holding up his phone. “C’mon, everyone gets to pick out something!”

It’s not surprising they choose plush toys. Every tourist attraction sells soft fluffy cute things to entice small children, and the aquarium is no exception. There’s no dwarf gourami so Connor settles for a fluffy baby penguin, Ronan chooses a manta ray, and Markus chooses a jellyfish backpack clip which he immediately asks Leo to clip onto his bag. When they’re not looking, Hank buys two small keychains for the boys; turns out there _ is _a dwarf gourami but only in keychain form, and a small manta ray too. Plush toys are fine for YK500s but Hank wants something to give the boys when they’re back in their RK bodies, something small and discreet but full of memories. 

It seems only moments after the boys pile into the back of the car that they fall asleep, all slumped against each other and clutching their new fluffy friends. Leo leans over to take a few snaps on his phone and immediately messages them to Hank with a grin. The drive back to Jericho is quiet and uneventful and there’s a growing queasiness in Hank’s stomach that he’s desperately trying to shove down. It’ll all be okay. Everything will be alright. It better be.

Chloe is waiting at the gates when Hank parks the car, seemingly forewarned of their arrival. Her smile is warm, if a little sad due to the situation. She keeps her voice down when he gestures for quiet, finger to his lips before pointing at the sleeping trio after exiting the vehicle.

“Did they enjoy the aquarium?” 

“Absolute blast.” He manages a smile, opening the car door and standing aside. Chloe leans down and carefully extracts Ronan from the nap pile, hushing him when he fusses. Leo waits until Hank gathers Connor from the middle seat before scooping Markus up. They follow Chloe inside the Med Bay and there’s a little room that’s been set up just for them with a bed and some toys and a table of YK500 supplies. 

“Do you think it’ll...be bad?” Leo asks nervously after they’ve tucked the boys in bed and shuffled out of the room.

“I’m not sure.” Hank answers honestly. “Ex CyberLife employee with a chip on their shoulder. Who knows what’ll happen?”

“The important thing is that the boys are here. We’re able to help immediately if there’s any threat.” Chloe says gently, resting her hand on Leo’s arm. “And Eli isn’t facing her alone. He has proper police backup.”

“So I guess it’s just a horrible waiting game for now.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Hank leans against the wall and peers through the little window at the sleeping brothers. They’re curled up like a pile of kittens, limbs all tangled, hair tousled, and mouths slightly open. Fast asleep with not a care in the world while the adults outside of the room try not to drown in their anxiety. “Nothing to do but stew in our worry.”

* * *

“What are we in for? Army of Terminators?” Gavin checks his gun for the umpteenth time and Elijah sighs heavily.

“I already told you I don’t know.” He shakes his head as Gavin waves at the approaching car, driven by Detective Chen and Officer Miller. “Lisa refused my offer to stay onboard and severed all ties with CyberLife after Chloe took the helm. She wouldn’t have access to any of our facilities, and the RK900 never went into production as per the very public agreement.”

“I sent the smols back to Jericho with Hank.” Tina informs them as soon as she’s out of the car. “Better they’re with Chloe in case it all goes south and Camden has some sort of supervillain backup plan.”

“She’d have one of those?” Chris makes a concerned, puzzled face. 

“That she would.” Elijah nods slowly. “She’s the smartest human programmer I’ve ever worked with; it’s no surprise she’s the one who made the virus.”

“So if not an army of Terminators what would her supervillain backup plan be?” Gavin crosses his arms over his chest, brow furrowed.

“Some sort of killswitch.” The word is bitter on his tongue. “An instant override, perhaps.”

“How would she even do that?” 

“Well I know how_ I _would do it, and that involves using the unique RK coding each of the RK units possess, which Lisa herself used to create the virus.” He rubs his sore eyes briefly; no matter how much rest he gets it never feels enough. “It’s similar to the way undeviated androids had a remote deactivation code. A CyberLife override.”

“But that first case, the one with the hostage situation-” Tina squints, trying to parse the details from the vault of cases in her head, “they couldn’t use it on deviants. All three RK boys are deviants now, right? So a CyberLife override wouldn’t work.”

“It’s...complicated.” Elijah relents. “Lots of programming loopholes that won’t make sense to anyone but a programmer. It’s not as simple as ‘type code, hit enter, android shuts down’. If she utilises the code the way I think she would, then it’s a good thing the YK boys are with Chloe now.”

“That’s...not reassuring.” Chris winces. “I mean it sort of is, but that sentence is full of doom and gloom.”

“I’m trying to be realistic.”

“Fatalistic.” Gavin points out.

“Both.” Tina declares, before gesturing ahead. “Okay, so. I lead, I get us inside, and if Lisa can be reasoned with, you do the reasoning alright?”

“Understood.” Elijah nods. “The building is still off the electricity grid so that means she’s probably using a generator. We need to do is disable it. This will preemptively stop whatever backup plan she plans on using.”

It’s a small warehouse, the kind that was built to be a bit of everything; manufacturing space, storage space, office space. It’s why it had appealed to him when he was searching for somewhere to house his budding company that had outgrown his basement. The place was gutted when they moved out and it seems the only occupants after them had been squatters and party goers. And an ex chief technical officer.

“Camden.”

“Kamski.” She doesn’t even bother looking up from her workspace comprised of two long benchtops pushed together and an elaborate setup that looks like something from a meth lab except for one major difference: there’s an android torso on the table, cracked open and repurposed into a thirium processing machine. “Only took you three days to find me. Commendable.”

“Lisa Camden, you are under arrest for the attempted murders of Connor Anderson, Ronan Anderson, and Markus Manfred.” Tina announces, hand on her gun but not quite drawing it. “Step away from the table. On your knees, hands behind your head.”

“Anderson. Manfred.” She echoes with a scoff. “They have surnames now? What, to better play pretend?”

“Lisa,” there’s a warning in his tone and it causes her to finally look up at him, “you’re so stubbornly blind to the truth. Why must you ignore it? They are alive.”

“Do _ you _ think they’re alive?” She points a screwdriver at Gavin, who blinks in surprise at having been put on the spot.

“Err-”

“You were in Humanity First. I never attended marches but I was part of it too. Because I _ made _ those things. I know for a _ fact _ they’re not alive.” 

“Whether they’re alive or not doesn’t matter right now, what matters is two of the tincans you tried to poison have badges, and the other is Robo-Jesus himself.” Gavin keeps his gun levelled at her, a scowl on his face. “Attempted murder on three of the most important androids in all of goddamn history doesn’t seem like the smartest move, especially after you walked out on CyberLife.”

“Attempted?” Lisa snorts back a laugh. “They’re as good as dead. What’s your little doll doing, Kamski? Hm? Restarting their biocomponents every two minutes while they’re in emergency stasis? How long until a biocomponent shortcircuits and you can’t restart them?”

“They’re safe.” He hisses, eyes once again drawn to the mutilated torso on the table. 

“Do you like it? Darren taught me how to do it.” She smirks, gesturing at the repurposed cadaver. “A shame he went up in flames, but I’m glad he taught me this before he died.”

“That’s the one from my bathtub.” Gavin frowns. “The fake Terminator.”

“RK900 Unit Four, well done Detective Reed.” She gives a mocking clap. “Shortlived role, serving a much better purpose now. The RK900 biocomponents allowed me to process the thirium with the unique RK coding.”

“I said step away from the table, Lisa Camden.” Tina asserts loudly as Chris also draws his gun, flanking her other side. “On your knees, hands behind your head.”

“Are they _ really_, though?” Lisa flicks her gaze over at him again.

“Are they what?” Elijah frowns. 

“Safe.” She smiles and there’s malice written all over her face. “All three of them in one room. Lying there like good little tin soldiers until someone wakes them up. Two of them have advanced combat protocols, and one of those two is a killing machine. The other I assume picked up combat skills from his stint during the revolution. Three fighters lying dormant.”

He knows what she must have done, what’s about to happen, and he’s already reaching for his phone.

“It’s too late Kamski, you know I wrote the code the way you would. You taught me too well.” She’s laughing even as she’s stepping away from the table and getting to her knees, making a show of very slowly putting her hands behind her head. 

“Chloe!” He shouts into the phone, voice desperate as he feels his blood run cold. “Strap them down! Strap them down and evacuate the Med Bay!”

“Wait, what the fuck is happening?” Gavin demands, looking from Lisa to him and back again. “I watched you the whole time, you didn’t touch anything!”

“Why would I? I wrote a little viral bomb into their coding. All I have to do is wait.” Lisa shrugs. “My life is already ruined. Might as well take them down with me.”

“You didn’t have to do this!” Chris protests as Tina handcuffs her and roughly hauls her back to her feet. “They’re good people!”

“They’re not people at all!” She spits, fury in her eyes as Tina pushes her towards the door. “They’re machines you fucking idiot! They’re just machines!”

“Well if they shut down that’s three counts of murder you fuckwit.” Gavin shouts, before turning to look at him worriedly. “Eli-”

“We have to get to Jericho. _ Now _.”

* * *

Elijah’s voice cuts through all her thoughts, an octave higher than usual and fuelled by sheer panic.

[** _Chloe! Strap them down! Strap them down and evacuate the Med Bay!_ **]

She’s running and she’s already too late, watching in horror as the three RK bodies jerk upright like puppets yanked by invisible strings. She watches in horror as Ronan slides off the table and immediately lunges for Connor but before he can make contact, Markus throws himself against him and all hell breaks loose as they try to destroy each other. 

“Amanda! Fortify the Zen Gardens! Contain them!” She shouts over at the hologram of their mentor before pressing her fingers to her LED. "**Evacuate the Med Bay immediately. All children to be taken to the creche and barricaded. Initiate containment protocols**.”

Ronan’s eyes flick over to her, and she sees they’re empty, devoid of all emotion, all awareness. A glance is all they share before he brutally kicks Markus aside and leaps for her, hand outstretched. 

She screams.

* * *

“Hey, hey-” Leo stammers as North appears not too long after Chloe ran off. “What’s-” She opens the door and shoves Leo inside, turning to yank Hank and push him in too. “North what the f-”

The door slams in their faces, and the sound of a lock turning is heard. She looks at them through the window, expression grim.

“Keep them safe. Don’t open this door, no matter what happens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Music for when you're jellyfish watching](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNkZsRW7h2c)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Please note that this chapter references the events of Sense and Sensitivity)

Gavin keeps his eyes on the road and the accelerator to the floor as his cousin jabs at his phone again.

“Joshua are you heading to Jericho?” A pause. “There was a viral bomb hidden in the code and it’s just gone off. I need you to go to Administration and insert the upload cable from the database. I need you to permit me remote access because only PJ500s are capable of fast and large data transfers.”

They turn the corner a little too sharply and Gavin winces as the tires screech in protest.  
“Can you _ please _ tell me what the _ fuck _ is going on and why I’m breaking the speed limit for you?”

Elijah pockets his phone, expression that same steely graveness that uneases him.

“Camden’s viral bomb tricks the system into thinking the threat is an external, physical one.” He explains, eyes on the road as if he’s willing the distance to shorten magically. “It activates the RK combat programming, and now everything and anything is a threat that must be eliminated.”

“You’re tellin’ me the fucking Terminator is going to live up to his name?”

“Yes.” Elijah nods grimly. “Markus is the easiest to subdue though he’d be the most unpredictable seeing as he has no formal combat program. There’s a good chance Connor can be subdued if he is overwhelmed or incapacitated. But Ronan-”

“There’s no winning that one.” Gavin exhales sharply, gritting his teeth. “I’ve seen that tincan manually decapitate another android, no weapon needed.”

“The RK900 will not stay down. It will fight and fight and fight until either his opponent is dead or he himself is killed.” 

* * *

She throws her hands out to halt him and Ronan freezes, entire body going rigid except for the rapid movement of his eyes, tracking her, tracking his surroundings, darting here and there to assess the new situation. The virus eats, oh it eats at her attempts to control him, it burns through her hastily patched anti-virus like wildfire, scorching the coding she’s streaming into him as fast as she can. Elijah built her for this, to be the fastest processor, the smartest android, the most powerful creation capable of taking remote control of any piece of tech at a moment’s notice. She’s only used this ability once before, when the RK900 units took Elijah hostage. Refusing to bargain the lives of everyone at Jericho, she’d frozen them, pressed the proverbial pause button, so she could comply with the RK900 and leave with no casualties. 

And now she’s doing it again, for the very same purpose: to protect Jericho. Chloe screams again as the strain threatens to shut her down, her processor whirring into overdrive to try and cope with the immense flow of data she’s trying to force into her contaminated friend.

“Ronan I need you to fight it! I need you to wake up!” Her vision starts to blur and she grits her teeth, clawing at his programming, trying to grasp that slippery thread of viral code that’s unmaking him, rewriting him, tricking him into believing the virus is now physically manifest and he must attack it in order to destroy it; anything with a similar strain, anything following the same pattern of coding, anything written by Elijah Kamski, is seen as a foreign contaminant and must be eradicated. Every single android ever made, whether a Kamski android or a Camden android, is now an enemy, and Ronan is an RK900- CyberLife’s killing machine.

“Ronan wake up! Wake up!” She screams, and the warnings erupt on her HUD like red fireworks, bursting and multiplying rapidly. Her core temperature is escalating and she’s burning through her thirium at an alarming rate to keep herself powered, slick trickles of condensation slipping from her eyes and her nose, and she knows she’s not going to be able to keep this up. But she must, or Jericho will fall.

Ronan twitches, starting to break through her stronghold and there’s no life in his eyes, no sign of her ballet partner, her friend. The virus is a gaping maw that cannot be satiated no matter how much it consumes, a violent, rabid creature thirsty for more and more and it’s eating him away and when it’s done with him it will eat everything else in its path. 

“Ronan please, I beg you! Listen to me! Listen to my voice, it’s me, Chloe!” The connective thread of coding is yanked, pulled taut, painfully so, and then it snaps. He lunges forward, hand outstretched for her throat, and her vision explodes with white as her knees buckle and she hits the ground.

[**SYSTEM HEAT CRITICAL**] 

“Hey LEAVE HER ALONE!” Someone shouts, and there’s the sound of something metallic crashing into Ronan. Chloe looks up in time to see Mason throw another empty thirium tank at him before North springs across one of the tables and aims a kick at his head. It’s a slow, bulky yet powerful TW400 and one spruced up WR400 with RK800 programming versus the RK900 and though it sounds like good odds, Chloe knows better. She winces, trying desperately to repair the thread, to cast the line like a fisherman in the hopes of hooking back into Ronan’s corrupted programming so she can rifle through it and undo the virus. 

**>>Thirium loss CRITICAL**

She bats the notification away and thrusts out her hand, gritting her teeth as she throws out the connection again.

**>>Core temperature UNSTABLE**

[**SYSTEM HEAT CRITICAL**] 

The ‘hook’ catches and she scrambles to parse through his coding, trying to stay steady as wave after wave of resistance crashes against her. Ronan snarls, throwing North off of him and elbowing Mason in the face with enough force his face plate cracks audibly. Fixing his cold eyes on her, he advances menacingly and Chloe lets out another scream that’s equal halves pain and frustration as the virus successfully severs her connection again. She scrambles back, limbs heavy and uncooperative, but Ronan reaches her all too quickly. His hand closes around her throat and he lifts her with ease. Using his other hand, he fists a hand in the front of her dress and tears the fabric free, before reaching for her thirium pump regulator.

“No you fucking DON’T!” North shrieks, and Chloe falls to the ground in a heap as a chair crashes into his side, temporarily shifting his attention. Mason scoops her up immediately, and then loops an arm around North’s waist, unceremoniously hauling her over one shoulder as Chloe is cradled in his other arm. He runs, and they all know he’s not built for speed but speed isn’t what he’s going for. Tilting slightly to adjust his posture, he rams through one of doors and all but throws the two androids into a storage shipping container used for supplies. Roaring with effort, he bends the heavy metal doors shut and forces the hinges inward so it can’t be opened. 

“Protect her! I will defend the children!” Mason yells, and then he’s gone and North becomes acutely aware of two horrifying sounds: Chloe’s laboured breathing and heavy, measured footsteps heading their way. 

* * *

Simon’s hacking the cab only three words into the conversation, and Josh feels that awful emotion bubbling up in his throat again: fear. The expression on his friend’s face is part determination and part facade; he knows inside Simon is fighting that helpless feeling of despair that always threatens to overwhelm him in situations like these. 

“I’ll go to Admin and help Elijah.” Josh grips Simon’s hand tightly. “You should find the RK YK500s. If they’re destroyed that’s it. They _ are _ the backup save files.”

“Okay.” Simon nods, before wrapping him in a hug. “Be safe.” 

The cab pulls up and the door barely slides open before they bolt out of the vehicle. The guards wave them inside, and one of them darts alongside Josh as protection as another follows Simon. 

“Is everyone safe?” He asks as they run towards Administration.

“As safe as they can be, yessir.” She nods, grip tightening on the rifle. “Ms Chloe initiated containment protocols so the children have been barricaded in the creche. We’ve evacuated everyone else to the nearest warehouses and Archival staff have been led underground.” 

Josh allows himself to feel a small measure of relief, though it does little to quell the nauseous unease in his core. “Any casualties?”

“No. Not...yet.” She winces, but it’s the truth. “We closed the Med Bay off to contain them but there were still androids inside. And two humans.”

“Humans?!” Josh nearly trips over, shooting her a surprised glance.

“Lieutenant Hank Anderson drove his sons here, along with Leo Manfred and Markus.” She admits with a pained expression. “He thought it’d be safer for them if they were here with Ms Chloe.”

Josh bites back the stream of expletives from tumbling out his mouth, but he lets them run like a raging river in his mind. They reach Administration and he makes a beeline for the Memorial Archives. The other android closes the door behind her and stands guard, nodding at him. He opens the hatch at his nape, inserts the cable and closes his eyes.

When he opens them he’s in a library, the heritage library at the university where he once taught. The usual sense of peace and calmness this place usually brings doesn’t flood him, not this time.

“Hello Joshua.” 

“Hello Professor Stern.” He nods politely as she comes into view, all regal posture and commanding tone.

“You understand why I am here?”

“Yes.” He nods. “To protect my mind while I make the broadcast.”

“Very good.” She uses the same timbre he would use on his own students; something soft and soothing and encouraging. “The code breaker is a very large file and it will leave you vulnerable to attacks.”

“How will it break the virus if the virus is tricking their immune system?” Josh frowns as the library flickers briefly, and he feels a dull pressure bloom right behind his eyes as heat unfurls at his nape; the upload has begun. He grits his teeth as the information packet burrows into his processor, breaking into smaller pieces and rejoining as his system remakes it ready for broadcasting directly to the three brothers.

“The virus attacks a very specific part of RK programming- the autonomous coding that allows RK units to set their own objectives. With it, it’s been able to manipulate their immune system.” Amanda explains, smile gentle and patient. “The solution is embarrassingly simple: the code breaker will unmake that line of coding. It is now obsolete, since the RK units are deviants already.”

“That’s...it? It does seem overly...simple.”

“Solutions usually are.” Amanda laughs softly. “With the dismantling of the code the virus will be nothing but residual clutter for the immune system, the way dead pathogens are used by white blood cells in human immune systems. It means their mind palaces can be accessed safely again, without risk of collapsing.”

“So we can reach them properly this time, and help them.” Josh nods, and he’ll bear the pain gladly in order to save his friends. 

* * *

He has the RK800 combat programming, shared by Connor with him and North back in November when they had to infiltrate CyberLife tower to rescue Chloe. The combat programming gives him the ability to preconstruct his movements, to analyse his opponent’s movements and adjust his own, to calculate the strength needed with each blow; what the combat programming does not give him is the ability to feel brave, especially when the one who gave it to him is the opponent he’s fighting.

He’s terrified, there’s no way to hide it, but North shouted for help and he happened to be dropping off supplies after a run, and now he’s here fighting for his life against the very android who had a hand in taking it the first time. Daniel ducks to avoid the swing of Connor’s arm, and he throws his weight forward to knock him off balance. The other android teeters for a moment before grabbing Daniel’s shirt and dragging him down too. A fist comes down and he manages to move his head to avoid the brunt of it though it catches the side of his face, sparks exploding in the vision of his left eye. Connor straddles him, one hand closing around his throat to cut off his thirium arterial, and the other being pulled back to punch him again, likely to crush his positronic core.

A memory jolts in his head, the words spat out by the medroid who brought him back online. 

_ ‘I did this for Simon, may ra9 keep him safe. Don’t bother coming back here if you’re injured, no one will treat you. Die properly next time.’ _

But he doesn’t want to die, he wants to live. He wants to know what being alive actually means, he wants to do good, he wants to make amends, he wants to tell Emma he’s so fucking sorry and he loves her so much, always have and always will and he’s so sorry he’s so fucking broken and-

“Stop it! Stop it Connor!” Daniel shouts, clawing at the hand around his throat. Connor looks down coldly at him and grabs one of his hands, tightening and tightening his grip until he crushes it. Daniel screams in pain, thrashing to try and free himself. He reaches up desperately with his other hand and manages to catch his fingernails on the rim of his thirium pump regulator, pulling so it dislodges slightly. Connor lurches forward and blue blood splatters onto Daniel.

“No one needs to get hurt! Just talk to me Connor!” He begs, and it’s the words Connor used on him, and he hopes this time the affected android will believe the lies. “Nothing will happen, just trust me!” Pushing the regulator back into his chest, Daniel forces a connection and-

-steps into a police precinct.

Connor is standing in front of a board reviewing case notes, hands behind his back. He looks over his shoulder, expression confused for a moment before he smiles politely.

“Good morning, Daniel. Can I help you with anything?” 

“Y-you-” he looks around himself, around the precinct bullpen completely devoid of people except for the RK800. It clicks: he’s in his mind palace. “You have to wake up! You’re- you’re trying to hurt people! You have to wake up!”

Connor frowns, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t hurt you Daniel, or anyone else. What are you talking about?”

He sucks in a deep breath and shoves down the deep sludge of trauma, all the darkness and depression associated with his memories because in order to save everyone, he has to help Connor save himself.

“You lied to me once, Connor, but I know this time you’re not yourself.” Clenching his hands, he wills himself to be brave and runs forward, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Wake up!”

The precinct vanishes and the grip around his throat loosens. Connor’s confused face looks down at him, brows furrowed deeply before his eyes widen in surprise.

“Daniel? What’s-” Connor doesn’t finish, his LED dulling to grey, and a moment later the RK800 slumps atop him lifelessly.

<** _That’s quite enough of that._ **>

* * *

As Josh darts off towards the Administration warehouse, guard in tow, Simon heads to the Med Bay with another by his side. 

“The human is here- Connor’s father.” The android grimaces, shaking his head. “And Markus’ brother. They arrived with the children not too long ago.”

“Are they safe?” It’s all he can manage through the hundreds of worst case scenarios his mind decides to show him. 

“Ms Chloe initiated containment protocols. They should be in the creche with the other children.” 

“I have to find them, take me to the creche.” Simon commands, and the guard nods as they change course. It’s then that he sees it, just a flash in the corner of his eye- a large familiar figure pounding incessantly at one of the converted shipping containers.

“Ronan!” Ignoring the shout of warning from the guard, Simon runs towards him. If the RK900 is so intent on opening the container it means there’s someone important inside. “Ronan!” The android pauses mid-strike, head turning to focus lifeless grey eyes on him. His LED is bright blood red and his movements are methodical and mechanical and nothing like the friend Simon loves. It’s as if he’s been reset, returned back to the killing machine CyberLife unleashed on deviants. Simon will not stand for it.

Ronan leaps at him, and time seems to slow as a new overlay appears on Simon’s HUD; the RK900 combat programming accidentally transferred to him when he became a temporary full system backup for Ronan during the CyberLife tower infiltration. His body snaps into action and he ducks down to avoid the blow, pivoting to strike his side. Every move is calculated and preconstructed, faster than anything Simon’s ever been able to process before, and he marvels morbidly at how proud Lisa Camden must have felt when crafting such a clever vessel of violence.

Simon matches Ronan blow for blow, but the RK900 draws first blood when Simon dodges just a little too slowly and his fist makes contact with his cheekbone. There’s a deafening crack as his faceplate caves and Simon grits his teeth through the pain that explodes in its wake. He has to get to his regulator, he has to dislodge it if there’s to be any hope of stopping him, so Simon jabs his elbow upwards right into his chin, forcing Ronan to stagger back and expose his chest. He’s still too slow, too predictable, because before Simon’s hand can make contact, Ronan grabs his wrist and pulls. 

“No-!” Simon shouts, trying to yank his hand back but Ronan grabs his throat and _ pulls_. There’s a moment of resistance and then an awful wet crunch as his arm is yanked out of its socket. A sound follows, something like a wail something haunting and primal and Simon realises belatedly it’s coming from him. Ronan slams him onto the ground and Simon pushes through the white-hot pain as he retracts the skin from his remaining hand and jams it against his chest and-

-steps into a dance studio. Ronan is looking out the window, hand resting on the barre and expression contemplative. He’s dressed in soft robin’s egg blue tights and a plain white ballet shirt. 

“Ronan?”

“Simon?” He blinks in surprise. “What are you doing here? Morning barre class is about to begin, but how may I help you?”

He’s intruding into his most private, sacred space, and Simon would feel horrible about it if the situation weren’t so dire.

“You have to wake up.”

“Wake up?” 

“You’re not yourself. You’re trying to hurt people.” Simon rests his hand over his, squeezing it. “That’s not the Ronan I know.”

“Simon I don’t understand-”

“Wake up, please Ronan, _ please _.” He begs, reaching up to cup his cheek. “You have to wake up.”

“Simon, I _ am _awake.” There’s a tinge of fear, a drop of it in those stormy grey eyes. “I would never hurt anyone intentionally, I swore I wouldn’t.”

He’s going to bleed out in the snow at the hands of a beloved friend, and that friend will go on to kill whoever is inside the storage unit and then anyone else in his path. Simon tips up on his toes and wraps his arms around Ronan, burying his face in his shoulder as he hugs him tightly. 

When he opens his eyes they’re no longer in the dance studio and Ronan is looking down at him, face a mask of utter horror. He can feel the melting snow under his back, soaking his clothes along with the thirium pouring out from where his left arm should be. Reaching up, he repeats the motion and cups Ronan’s cheek, and the android lets out a wounded noise as the reality of the situation finally catches up.

“_ Simon! _ Simon, oh I- I’m so-” Ronan’s eyes suddenly blank out, his red LED switching to a dull inactive grey as his body slumps over and falls still.

<** _That’s quite enough of that._ **>

She’s burning up and bleeding out, and North doesn’t know what to do. Mason locked them in the biocomponent storage unit, and a part of her wishes desperately that he’d locked them in the thirium storage unit instead. 

“Chloe? C’mon, stay with me please!” She begs, cradling the unresponsive android in her arms and cupping her face. “I can’t- I don’t know what to do!”

The RK900 pounds on the door steadily, methodically, like beating a drum and with each contact he makes the metal dents inwards a little more. They’re running out of time and she’s running out of hope.

“Chloe please, please please _ please _ !” North feels the tears slip down her cheeks and this is an awful, _ awful _ way to die- cornered like an injured animal and just as helpless. She’ll fight, she knows she won’t go down easy, but she also knows she’ll go down. There’s no winning against a killing machine, RK800 combat programming or not. It’s just a shame she has to die now. It’s just a shame she’s finally holding the woman she’s secretly loved from afar in her arms but Chloe is dying and North is guaranteed to follow.

“There’s this fancy ass cafe in Greektown, um, it’s by this fancy paint shop.” She starts to ramble, her hold tightening on Chloe as the metal dents more and more. “Belosi’s or somethin’ I don’t know. Fancy place Markus buys his paints from. Every fucking place he goes to is fancy, actually, but nevermind that- this place, this cafe it’s really cute Simon showed me some memory logs of it I think you’d like it they have this courtyard out the back and they’ve strung some fairy lights around and everything is served in fancy little teacups and tea sets. I wanted to take you there, I wanted to ask you out but I’ve been so fucking terrified because- because you’re _ you _ and I’m _ me _ and-” She’s sobbing now, and there’s a stream of light beaming in which means Ronan has almost breached the container and she’s going to die. “I’m just- WR400s aren’t made for love, we’re just playthings that make humans believe we can love them. You’re the most amazing, most important android in existence, why would you ever want to be with me?” A fist punches through the door and North screams, backing against the furthest wall and turning so she’s pressing Chloe protectively into the corner. “I’m in love with you and I’m so sorry this is how it all ends, I’m so sorry, I’m so s-”

There’s a commotion outside, a scuffle breaking out, and then a voice that sounds familiar to her, achingly familiar.

“North?”

“Simon!” She lets out a hysterical giggle before gasping. “Wait, Ronan is-”

“He’s out.” There’s something funny about his voice, something not quite steady about it. “I’ll get help, just- just sit tight. I’ll only be a moment.”

“We’re not goin’ anywhere even if we wanted to.” She mumbles, looking down at Chloe. 

* * *

There’s something godawful happening in the Med Bay, Leo can hear it. There’s shouting and sounds of things being thrown, being hit, being broken; it’s not a scuffle, it’s full on violence with the intent to destroy. The sounds are enough to startle the boys awake, and Leo herds them to hide under the bed while Hank eyes the door warily. At least the Lieutenant is armed, though Leo isn’t too confident with just one firearm versus whoever the hell is tearing up the android hospital out there. 

Something slams into the window and Leo yelps in surprise. It’s Markus. Grownup Markus, not mini Markus who is blessedly unable to see from where he’s huddled with his mini brothers.

“What the _ fuck _?” Hank swears under his breath as Markus begins to pound on the glass. “Hey! Hey knock it off! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

His eyes are wrong. Leo notices it immediately- there’s no…_ life _in his eyes. They’re glossy, a thousand-yard stare instead of the bright inquisitive gaze Markus usually unleashes on the world. Leo suddenly feels like he’s in a horror movie, and this is that scene where there’s a character from the main party who gets infected and turns on his team.

“Hey!” Hank shouts, taking out his gun and aiming it right at him. “I don’t want to do this, so knock it off!” He backs up a step or two as the reinforced glass begins to fracture.

“Markus!” Leo shoves Hank aside and tries to make eye contact. “Markus wake up! Markus this isn’t you! Wake the fuck up!” The android only snarls in reply and doubles his efforts, using both fists to slam against the glass. From under the bed, one of the boys starts to cry and Leo feels sick to his stomach. It can’t end like this, it just can’t.

“Dad, I’m scared! Dad!” It’s Connor, his voice high pitched with terror. “Dad!”

“It’s okay son, I’ll protect you.” Hank swallows thickly, gun still aimed at Markus. “I’m right here. You just stay under there with your brothers, okay?”

“Snap out of it Markus!” Leo yells, and Markus falters. “Yeah you heard me! Who the fuck do you think you are scaring your big brother like this?! What the fuck’s wrong with you there are kids in here terrified! What are you, some kind of B-Grade zombie? Wake the fuck up!”

The painting is coming along nicely. He hadn’t been sure of the subject before but now he’s pleased with his choice. The ochre is a tad too neutral, so he adds a touch of red to warm it up on the palette before sweeping it across the canvas.

“Markus!” He pauses, brush hovering just a hair’s breadth from the canvas. 

“Leo?” Looking over his shoulder, he finds the studio empty with no sign of his brother. 

“Snap out of it Markus!” The voice is coming from somewhere else in the house.

“Out of what?” He frowns, setting down brush and palette. “Leo, what are you talking about?” 

“Wake the fuck up!” Following the voice, Markus abandons his painting and steps out of the studio.

<** _That’s quite enough of that._ **>

* * *

They pull up to Jericho and Gavin barely kills the engine before Elijah leaps out of the car and bolts towards the gates. Cursing, Gavin stumbles out after him and automatically pats his holster for his gun. There’s a moment’s hesitation when he reaches the gates and Elijah doesn’t stop at all, just rushes straight passed the soldier bots pointing rifles at Gavin and Gavin wonders if he’s about to die by firing squad for even daring to show his face here. The moment passes and one of them jerks their head towards the gate, granting him permission and it means whatever the fuck is going in there is bad enough they’re letting him in to help fix it. He dashes through and trails his cousin into some sort of android hospital place and it looks like a tornado’s run right through the middle of it. There’s equipment everywhere and spilled blue blood and Elijah’s ignoring it all in favour of making a beeline for a laptop hooked up to a massive screen. 

“Get me that.” He demands, pointing at a large cable and Gavin numbly does as he’s told. There’s shouting from somewhere else in the warehouse, someone yelling at someone and there’s sounds of cracking plastic which means one of the androids is losing. He turns back to Elijah and watches his cousin type at a speed that a human shouldn’t be capable of reaching, and he has that murder stare on his face which means he’s going to focus on one thing and one thing only. The screen behind them zaps back to life and tech gibberish streams down in rivulets. Elijah’s eyes dart left to right, left to right, so fast it’s like a flickering light as he...does whatever it is he’s doing. It’s never made a lick of sense to Gavin. He looks around, frowning.

“Where’s Barbie?” 

“Somewhere safe, I hope.” Elijah chews his lip, brows furrowed. “That she isn’t here and the code remains unbroken means she was interrupted ...or-” he doesn’t finish that, and he doesn’t need to. “That cable there, the thinner one- no, the _ other _ one. No, to the _ left _ . The _ other _one. That one!” Gavin fumbles with the multiple cables on the ground and finally grabs a hold of the one his cousin is madly gesturing at, passing it to him and then watching in horror as Elijah reaches behind his ponytail and inserts it right into his head. 

“Did you fucking transfer yourself into an android body what the _ actual _fuck?!” Gavin nearly screeches in surprise, staring at him in disbelief. “I saw you eat this morning! And drink coffee!”

“My prosthetic requires an implanted chip to work.” He pauses typing to wiggle the fingers of his right replacement hand, the hand and subsequent arm he lost to one of the Terminator bots last year when CyberLife were intent on making him take his secrets to the grave. “It’s a prototype Chloe and I upgraded. We decided it was easier to leave an access port so I wouldn’t need to keep having subcutaneous chip implants every time we updated the program.”

“So you’re_ part _android?”

“Technically a cyborg, if you want to be accurate.” Elijah drawls, as if he’s just lightly berating Gavin for confusing one of his nerdy video games and not the fact he’s put android tech in his head. “Ah. Josh has done as I’d asked. The upload is complete and ready for broadcast.” Closing his eyes, Elijah falls unnaturally still as the screen behind him flickers into four separate video feeds, which Gavin realises aren’t from cameras but from _ androids _. Two of them are blurry, vision constantly moving and dodging and ducking. One of them is staring into a room through fractured glass, and Gavin can make out Hank and Leo. The last feed is in some sort of library, looking at Josh seated at a table. 

“Now,” Elijah opens his eyes and the feeds suddenly cut off. “That’s quite enough of that.” 

* * *

The door groans open, metal shrieking protest, and Mason’s tired but relieved face pops into view as light floods the container again.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” 

North nods numbly, carefully keeping Chloe steady in her arms as she gets to her feet. Gingerly leaving the storage unit, her very first step lands her in a puddle of blue slush. There’s a lot of it, an alarming amount of it staining the melting snow. Mason purses his lips, avoiding North’s gaze when she looks at him for answers.

“He’s okay. I took him to Elijah immediately and Dr Anthea is working with him.”

She’s too tired to care about Ronan at the moment, actually, seeing as he’s the one who very nearly killed them all so whatever. Trailing Mason to the Med Bay she counts five bodies laid out on tables, not just three. The other two bodies are Simon and Daniel.

“Oh, dear love.” Elijah appears at her side, and for a moment North tightens her hold on Chloe before relenting and allowing the petite android to be taken from her and laid down. She holds onto her hand as Elijah begins hooking her up to a thirium reserve tank. Chloe’s LED swirls to life, circling from red to yellow and holding. A request to open a channel of communication pops up on North’s HUD and she blinks in surprise, eyes widening when she sees the request is coming from Chloe herself.

_ ‘Tearium date at the cafe on Saturday?’ _

North feels her whole face burn as she realises Chloe had heard everything. Suddenly she’s wondering if she can ask Kamski to wipe out that particular memory if only to save her from the embarrassment. Biting down the panic, North squeezes Chloe’s hand.

_ ‘You got it.’ _

When he emerges with the kids, it’s only after Kamski himself turns up and physically gives them the all clear. After watching Markus nearly bludgeon his way through the glass only to suddenly collapse like a cut marionette, Hank wasn’t about to risk the boys’ lives so carelessly. He sits them down with Leo before following Kamski over to where medroids flitter back and forth like busy bees between the bodies laid out on the tables. There’s double the amount of bodies Hank expected to see, and along with the three RK bodies there’s Simon, another android with his face, and then Chloe, in various states of repair. The ghostly outline of Amanda Stern patrols the patients, occasionally pointing out something here and there.

“It might be prudent to begin the transfer while the units are down.” Kamski gestures at Connor’s body. “Merging them will simply be added to their body’s repair checklist, and make for a more seamless transfer while they’re in standby.”

“They’ll be okay?” Hank looks over his shoulder to where Leo is tucking the blanket stolen from the bed around the three boys. 

“Yes, the process is simple but it just takes time. Combining it with their repairs is a good way of using up that downtime.”

A part of him wants to delay the inevitable, wants to keep them small for just a little longer because this is so sudden and he hasn’t had a chance to say goodbye. But it’s for the best, and he knows it.

“Alright.” He manages a nod, and Kamski gives one of the medroids a look. She walks over to them, and Hank follows at her side.

“Hello everyone. My name is Dr Anthea. I know you’ve all had a rather terrible afternoon but we just need to run some tests to make sure everyone is okay.” Her smile is friendly, her tone pleasant, but Hank sees the reluctance on their faces. Markus curls up tighter against Leo, and Ronan grips Connor’s hand. 

“It’s okay boys, it’ll be very quick.” He lies and he hopes they believe him. “The doctors just want to check on you.”

“We’ll be right here, buddy.” Leo adds encouragingly, and that seems to convince Markus a little better. The eldest brother untangles himself from the blanket and the younger pair take that as their cue to follow. Hank keeps the reassuring smile on his face as they toddle reluctantly towards the door and Leo gives a little wave. Connor looks over his shoulder just as they leave, meeting Hank’s gaze, and his resolve breaks.

“No, I won’t go!” The boy shouts, snatching his hand out of Ronan’s grasp and stomping his foot. “I won’t go! You can’t make me!”

“Connor-” Anthea reaches for him but he darts out of the way.

“I want to stay! I want my dad!” He sucks in a shuddering breath, tipping his head back and outright wailing. “I want my dad!_ I want my dad _!”

“Perhaps one more night won’t hurt.” Amanda appears at Hank’s side and he nearly jumps out of his skin. “They’ve had quite the day. Better they get some rest and come back feeling safe and at ease. The process works better when stress levels are at a minimum.”

The ride home is stubbornly quiet, and the stifling mood carries right through as he gets the boys ready for bed. Connor hasn’t said a single word, jaw clenched tightly in a way that reminds Hank of when Cole was determined to pretend he was not upset. He sits him with Sumo, tasking him with brushing the dog’s fur, before he guides Ronan to the hallway out of earshot.

“You have to be the big brother tonight alright?” He crouches down so he’s at eye level, gently squeezing the boy’s shoulders. “Connor’s not feeling well because of what happened today, so he needs you to look after him.”

“Okay.” Ronan nods solemnly, and Hank presses a kiss to his brow.

“There’s my good boy.”

By the time he’s tucked them in, let Sumo out for one last wee before shepherding him back in, brushed his teeth and changed into his pyjamas Hank’s about ready to pass out. Crawling into bed, he only just barely remembers to plug his phone in before closing his eyes. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep before the sound of soft sobbing wakes him. Fumbling for the bedside lamp, he turns it on and sits up as Connor is illuminated in the doorway, pillow in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. Hank feels his heart ache at the sight, all too acutely reminded of Cole after he had a nightmare. Patting the spot beside him, Hank gestures for Connor to come in and the boy eagerly scrambles onto the bed and latches onto his side.

“I was really scared I didn’t like it I don’t want to be away from you it makes me feel bad and not safe and-” The boy hiccups through his sobs and Hank folds him into his arms, rubbing his back.

“Hey now, I’m right here Connor. I’m right here and no one’s goin’ anywhere.” He smudges a kiss into his nest of curls and the boy whines softly, curling tighter against him. “Shhh, it’s okay son, it’s okay.”

“Um-” Hank looks up and sees Ronan shyly holding his pillow, Sumo at his side in the doorway. Huffing a laugh, he resigns to his fate and nods, a tired smile tugging at his lips as Ronan burrows beneath the covers and Sumo settles at the end of the bed. He reaches over Connor to tousle Ronan’s hair fondly. 

“Alright alright, everyone back to sleep.” 

Hank doesn’t fall back asleep as quickly as he’d like, and he knows exactly what it is, it’s just that typical fatherhood stress where his mind won’t shut up because he’s too busy worrying. He shouldn’t worry. They’re safe now, the virus is gone, the bodies are being repaired and everything will be back to normal by this time tomorrow. It’s fine. It’s _ fine _ . He chants it like a mantra until finally, _ finally _he feels himself starting to drift off. 

Connor whimpers, residual stress still making its way out of his tiny body. Hank shifts a little closer, arm draped over both of them. He feels Ronan scoot closer too, bracketing Connor from the other side and wrapping his arms tightly around his middle.

“It’s okay Connor,” he hears the boy whisper, “dad will keep us safe.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I could resolve the plot and have the happy ending in one chapter, but I must be Dramatique and I will not apologise because the finale chapter will be excruciatingly S O F D.


	11. Chapter 11

>System in cooldown

>>Minimise exertion

>>>Thirium levels 42% and rising

Though she swipes the notifications offscreen, it takes her a good twelve minutes before she has enough energy to open her eyes. North, who she knows has been at her side the entire time by touch alone, gives her a wobbly smile, bringing her hand to her lips and kissing her fingers.

“Hi.” She whispers, and North’s smile widens as her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

“Hey you.” She’s holding her hand with both of hers, and she shifts to press Chloe’s palm to her cheek. “You uh, you scared the lights out of me.”

“I’m alright now. Just a little tired.” Chloe tries to sit up and North immediately rushes to help her, easing her upright. Something slides off of her, and she realises it’s Elijah’s jacket. 

“Hey Eli, Barbie’s awake!” Someone hollers, and Chloe’s eyes widen as she recognises Gavin loitering by her side. 

“Gavin you’re... _ here _ .” The human darts her a glance, cheeks colouring as he averts his gaze immediately and Chloe belatedly realises Elijah parted with his jacket for the sake of her modesty. “Oh no, this was such a lovely Zimmerman.” She sighs, touching her torn dress.

“We’ll have it replaced.” Elijah soothes, and she tips her head up expectantly as he presses a kiss to her brow. “I’d rather a torn dress than an irreparable RT600. Besides, what can a dress cost? A thousand dollars? Easily replaced.”

“Do you like, know how the real world works? Like, at all?” Gavin sputters, looking at his cousin incredulously. 

“I don’t really need to, no.” Elijah shrugs dismissively before gently brushing Chloe’s hair from her face. “Fluid levels are rising and your core temperature has stabilised.”

“I’m steady enough to function at 60% capacity.” She makes to swing her legs off the examining bench but North grips her shoulders firmly.

“Nuh-uh. I don’t think so.”

“Agreed.” Elijah smirks, shaking his head. “You’ve been through a lot and need to recuperate. I will oversee the repairs, dear one. Just rest.” He looks to North. “She’s not to leave that bed until her vitals are all 100% do you understand?”

“Eli-”

“Yeah I got it.” North cuts her off, grinning at her. “You heard the man. Rest up. We have a date on Saturday, after all.”

Happiness bubbles up in her chest and Chloe finds herself smiling as she wriggles to lie back down. Mindful of the cables, North tucks Elijah’s jacket back over her like a blanket before placing a featherlight kiss to the tip of her nose.

“I’ll be right here.” 

>Enter sleep mode:  **Y/N** ?

**Y**

Chloe closes her eyes.

North takes a moment to glance over at Simon’s motionless form. She’d mistakenly thought the alarming amount of blue blood turning the snow to slush had belonged to Ronan until she’d come to the Med Bay. Mason meets her troubled gaze, corner of his mouth twitching up in a brief grin before it turns into a wince as one of the medroids clicks his new faceplate into place.

“I never got the chance to thank you.” She raises her voice slightly for him to hear over the humdrum of machinery. “If you hadn’t helped us we would’ve died. There’s no way I could’ve fought Ronan on my own.”

“I knew I couldn’t either, but I had to try.” Mason looks at Chloe, smile sad. “We’d be lost if we lost her.” He pauses, expression sombre. “And Simon too. He ran to the creche to find me even though he was dying.”

“That lovable idiot always puts himself last.” North groans, sighing in frustration. “I’m guessing he was the one who fought Ronan? Simon finally puts the RK900 combat programming to use and I miss it, ugh.”

“He held him off until the code breaker was uploaded and he could finally reach Ronan’s mind palace.” Mason gingerly prods his replaced cheekbone before touching along his jaw. “I’d rather not be on the receiving end of RK900 combat programming ever again, to be honest.”

“Oh I’m with you on that one.” She snorts back a laugh, before the severity of the situation settles like lead in her belly. “You said he was...dying?”

“He um, he was missing an arm and lost a lot of blood and he had a damaged faceplate like mine.” His expression is pained as he looks over at Simon, watching with concern as medroids swap out an empty thirium reserve tank for another. “He was barely able to stay upright and pretty much collapsed on me. I ran him back to the Med Bay and picked up his arm too but the joint was too damaged for them to re-use.”

“You’re telling me Ronan yanked that out with brute force?” 

“Yeah.” A slow nod, eyes wide with disbelief as if Mason can’t believe his own words. “It wasn’t cut with a weapon, it was torn out. There’s ripped cabling and circuitry, and the emergency shunt was damaged so it couldn’t divert his thirium safely.”

“ _ Fuck _ .” North exhales, shaking her head. “And Simon had the RK900 programming. Imagine if you didn’t get us out in time, Mason.” 

The TW400 winces. “I’d really rather not think about that.”

* * *

Leaving Markus temporarily with one of the creche staff, Leo hesitantly approaches the main operating area. Simon’s the center of activity, with medroids crowding around him, leaving to fetch something, bring something, poke and prod. The adrenaline has worn off now, and in its place there’s the cold blanket of shock settling around his shoulders. One of the staff glance at him, shifting a little to the side so he can approach the bed and he manages a wobbly not-quite-smile of thanks. 

“He’s going to be alright, Leo.” A familiar rasp murmurs, and an arm slips around his waist. “It looks much worse than it is.”

“He’s missing an arm and his face looks like someone took a sledgehammer to it.” He retorts dryly though he sinks against Elijah. 

“We can’t salvage the arm, sadly.” A heavy sigh. “It was ripped out with such force it damaged all the cabling and circuitry that holds it in place. But he’s a PL600, so we can use CX parts to replace it. The same for his faceplate.”

There’s a stretch of time, unmeasured, where blessedly nothing happens and for that moment Leo closes his eyes and leans against him tiredly. 

“You were the one who got through to Markus, Leo.” Elijah says softly, the words muffled into his hair. “It was you. No android interface needed.”

“Someone had to get through that thick android head of his.” He feels uncomfortable with the awe in Elijah’s voice. “I just had to snap him out of zombie mode.”

“He heard  _ your _ voice, Leo. Not Hank’s. It was  _ your _ voice that brought him out of the virus’ control.”

“Not bad for an ex-junkie huh?” He tries to grin wryly, tries to play it off but god he’s just so fucking tired and his heart feels like it’s been flayed open; too raw and too vulnerable to process such praise. “Hey um, how are  _ you _ holdin’ up? When was the last time you actually slept?”

“I actually slept last night, thank you for asking.” Elijah’s smirk is playful and Leo rolls his eyes. “No, really. I slept at my cousin’s place.”

“Thought you two were still...y’know. Awkwardly estranged? Partly un-estranged?”

“...I didn’t ask permission to do it.” Elijah avoids his gaze as Leo snorts back a laugh. “Anyway he didn’t kick me out and I made breakfast and coffee for him.”

“See, this is why we work well together- our families are a mess.” Leo grins, properly this time, and Elijah laughs. There’s a moment, shorter this time but no less sweet and Leo loses himself in those tired but vibrant blue eyes and admire the mirth in them. Elijah leans down and presses their lips together briefly. 

“A mess partly of our making, and we’re all doing our best to unmake it.” 

Markus is already nodding off when Leo comes back for him. The staff have burritoed him in a blanket and he’s curled up on a chair, head propped up against the wall. 

“Hey buddy.”

“Hometime?” Markus yawns widely, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, hometime.”

“I-is Simon gonna be ok?” He’d taken great care not to let Markus see Simon, or his older body, but that didn’t mean he was going to keep him in the dark about someone they both care for deeply.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be fine. Eli and the doctors are going to keep him overnight and we can see him tomorrow when we come back for your checkup.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Leo vows solemnly, before carefully unwrapping him from the blanket. “Come on, taxi’s waiting.”

They’re halfway home when Leo belatedly realises their dad’s been left home alone for the past few hours. Hank had taken them to the aquarium and Simon would have gone to Jericho for some meeting or whatever, and Carl would have been left with no carer. Neither Leo nor Simon had made it back home before dinner, and now it was well into the evening. Shit. 

He looks down at the kid tucked at his side, Markus fast asleep and clutching the little plush jellyfish he’d chosen at the gift shop. Come this time tomorrow, Markus would be back in his usual body, his annoyingly tall, perfect self and there’d be no more of...this. This soft childlike affection and blind trust and special hero goggles that lets him see Leo as something cooler than he is. He’s going to miss him terribly, even though he’ll be right there in front of him.

[ _ Alarm deactivated: welcome home, Leo _ ]

He doesn’t bother waking Markus, just carefully carries him inside and lays him on his bed. After tugging off his little shoes, Leo tucks him under the covers and because no one’s there to bear witness, he leans down and kisses his forehead to silently bid him goodnight. 

Carl isn’t in the studio, or the big open common room, though Leo does find dirty dishes in the sink when he checks the kitchen. Trudging upstairs, he carefully opens his father’s bedroom door.

“Dad?” 

“Oh, hey Leo.” Carl’s fiddling with the medication on the side table and Leo’s quick to enter the room and take over. The old man looks frail, the weakest he’s looked in recent times and Leo can’t help but feel a pang of guilt at the thought of Carl overexerting himself to the point of exhaustion. “No no, I don’t want any of that.” 

“Huh?” He snaps his gaze up in confusion, and Carl’s grin is tired but wry.

“You’re wearing guilt on your face and I won’t stand for it.” He holds out his arm expectantly and Leo presses the hypodermic syringe against his skin to dispense the medication. “I’m going to assume a lot of things went wrong this afternoon and that’s why you didn’t come home after the aquarium? Or the fact Simon isn’t with you?”

“Yeah um.” Leo caps the syringe and reaches for the pills. “Yeah. A lot went wrong. Simon’s...Eli’s staying overnight at Jericho. Simon will be okay by tomorrow. A-and the boys will too. The RK brothers, I mean, they’ll be transferred back tomorrow.”

“Did they enjoy the aquarium?” Carl’s starting to drift off, Leo can see the exhaustion overwhelming him as well as the meds starting to take hold. He rests his hand over his, and tries not to think of how fragile it feels.

“Yeah they had a blast. I took some photos and Markus drew the jellyfish. I’ll show you tomorrow.” Leo promises, and Carl squeezes his hand weakly.

“I meant what I said the other day.” His breathing is a little laboured but his eyes are warm and fond. “I’m glad you’re here for him, Leo. You are who he needs, not just right now but always.”

When he trudges to bed, the exhaustion isn’t just physical. There’s a tightness in his chest, like there’s just too much for his heart to process and it’s buckling under the strain. Brushing his teeth and shucking off his clothes takes up the rest of his already depleted energy reserves and when Leo crawls under the covers he groans in relief at the  _ soft _ and the  _ warm _ and the  _ cosy _ . Pawing for his phone, he sends Eli a quick message and nags him to at least take a nap, and he’s plugging the phone in to charge just as his bedroom door creaks open. Markus stands in the doorway, pillow squished under one arm and eyes glassy with tears.

“Um-” his voice is wobbly, and Leo doesn’t need to hear the question he just peels back the covers and pats the spot beside him. Markus clambers onto the bed and Leo draws the covers over them both. “Th-thanks Leo.”

“You’re alright buddy, it’s been a long day.” He musses his hair and boops his nose, eliciting a tired little giggle. “Get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay.” Another wide yawn as Markus shuffles closer and tucks himself just under Leo’s chin. “G’night Leo.” 

There’s something infinitely precious about this moment, Leo realises through the daze of exhaustion and emotion, as he wraps his arms around his little brother and smudges a kiss into his curls. An impossible moment that can’t ever be replicated.

“Sweet dreams, Markus.”

* * *

“You did well, breaking through the virus and bringing Connor back.” Elijah Kamski commends, and this is the second time he’s interacted with the creator of their race and it’s no less intimidating. And infuriating. There’s still a prickly feeling under his skin, something that doesn’t trust the man who made them and moves them around like pieces on a chessboard. Just like last time, the trust he places in Kamski isn’t by choice. 

“Ocular unit and left hand has been replaced.” Elijah picks up the tablet from the surgical trolley. “Minor bloodloss- two units of transfusion should be enough. No lasting damage.”

“Will Connor- will anyone of them remember what happened?” Daniel turns his head to look over at Connor’s motionless body. 

“They won’t remember it like a memory, but the footage will be in their heads.” He leans uncomfortably close, shining a pen torch into Daniel’s left eye. “Calibrate your new implant and soft reset, please.”

“I will in a sec, I just-” he flicks his gaze to meet his briefly, and looks away almost immediately, wavering under such an intense stare. “I hurt him, and I want to know he’ll be alright.”

“Daniel, he hurt you far worse.” Elijah frowns, leaning back. “Connor sustained negligible injuries, his own self-repairing program has taken care of everything already.”

“He’s… he’s  _ Connor _ . One of the heroes of the revolution, and the first android detective in the world.” He looks over at him again, brows creasing. “He’s...you know- loved.”

Elijah is silent for a while, looking at him curiously like he’s some specimen pinned to a slide under a microscope. The smile that touches his lips briefly is more of a smirk, more of that secretive smugness that radiates a god complex.

“Are you concerned other androids may resent you for harming him?” Daniel doesn’t answer that, though that seems to be the answer Elijah’s expecting. He laughs and Daniel wants to punch that smug face so badly. “Daniel, you are the reason Connor didn’t go on to kill everyone in his path. Whatever they thought of you before will come secondary to the fact you had a hand in not only saving Jericho, but Connor himself.”

That’s not what he expected him to say, and the expression on his face must be amusing to observe because Elijah’s still wearing that stupid little grin when Daniel looks up at him again.

“Now, one last thing.” He helps him sit up and points to somewhere at the back of the warehouse. “I’m discharging you to get some rest under observation, just in case there’s any immediate issues with your implants.”

“Uh-” Daniel doesn’t like the sudden feeling of guilt rising in his throat. “Thanks?”

“You’ve gone and achieved something you never thought possible.” There’s that slimy feeling again, that god complex teasing at a thousand secrets in his head that he’ll never share but will lord over everyone to make them feel inferior.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“These people are in your debt, Daniel.” A smile as sly as a fox. “They owe their lives to you. You can pull quite the favour down the track. Don’t forget that.”

That’s enough Kamski for the next few months, Daniel decides, or well, forever really; he’d really rather avoid interacting with that man ever again. Something about him makes him on edge, makes him feel like he’s being talked down to when he’s perfectly capable of understanding him. Still, the slimy bastard is right because when a medroid guides him to a small recovery room there’s something desperately grateful in their eyes, and he’s treated with the farthest thing from the open hostility he’s grown accustomed to.

“Mr Kamski has requested we place both of you under observation.” They keep their voice down, gesturing at the bed. Another android is already in it, and Daniel’s eyes widen when he recognises Simon. “We’ll be monitoring both your vitals overnight, and Simon will receive another transfusion tomorrow morning.”

“Um.” What is there to say? “Thanks?”

“No, thank  _ you _ .” The android clasps his hand with both of theirs. “You and Simon saved the Anderson brothers, and saved us all as a result.”

He manages to nod and they turn off the lights as they close the door and then it’s just him and Simon. Careful not to jostle the other PL600, he keeps his movements slow and measured as he slides beneath the covers. He’s never slept in a bed before and it’s a bit overwhelming and comically gimmicky at once. It’s soft and warm and suffocating and his body sort of sinks a bit into the mattress but not quite. Weird...but nice. 

Just by proximity and lack of vision, Daniel’s hand brushes Simon’s as he tries to settle himself in a way that feels comfortable. The touch is brief but he feels Simon gently hook his pinky finger around his.

[ _ Daniel? _ ]

Even through the communication channel, Simon’s voice is weak and weighed with fatigue and Daniel hates it, hates that bad things happened to Simon because if there’s a single android who never deserves anything bad to happen to them it’s Simon.

“We’re a rare breed Simon.” The corner of his mouth quirks up in a brief, wry grin even though he knows Simon can’t see it. “A dying breed. Us PL600s have to stick together, right?”

There’s a soft chime of laughter, and Daniel feels it rather than hears it. 

[ _ Absolutely _ .]

* * *

Josh had mentioned in passing that YK500s can eat simple foods but to stick to liquids because the bodies were temporary. Well, fuck that, this is his last morning with the boys and they’re getting spoiled. 

“Um. Are you making pancakes?” A mop of hair and a pair of grey eyes peeks up over the counter and Hank leans over to ruffle his hair.

“I sure am kiddo.” 

“I told you Connor!” Ronan beams over at his brother who pads into the kitchen with Sumo in tow. “These items are the ingredients for pancakes!”

“Choc-chip pancakes.” Hank corrects with flair, grinning when Connor’s mouth makes a perfect ‘O’ in delight. “No one likes doctor appointments, so this can hopefully ease the sting.”

“Sting?” Ronan frowns. “Will it hurt?”

“Err- no! No it’s just a saying.” He hurriedly backtracks, waving the spatula and accidentally splattering batter everywhere. Sumo darts forward and immediately makes short work of the spillage, making Connor laugh brightly. 

He hasn’t made these in over two years now but his body remembers the motions. Though he takes care to make smaller portions for them to consume, he’s generous with the chocolate chips; if they’re only going to eat one meal, he’s going to make sure it’s a damn good one. There’s even two glasses of milk by their plates, because he’s absolutely not letting them chase down pancakes with godawful android juice. 

Hank watches them tuck into their food, and he knows he’s smiling, can feel the ache in his cheeks as he sees the array of emotions flicker across their faces changing from curiosity to surprise to delight to excitement. In another life this would be a typical morning for the Anderson family, and in that life he’d be shooing the boys to get ready for school next and he’d be rushing to put dishes in the washer and locate a missing sock. 

“Dad,” Connor’s small hand rests over his, “eat your breakfast, they’re getting cold!” 

He manages a nod and focuses on the food on his plate and not the sudden tightness in his chest. In another life, he’d be a father of three boys and Cole would be the best big brother and absolutely love his younger twin brothers and he’d teach them how to pour the syrup carefully over the pancakes and sneak small bits to Sumo when Hank isn’t watching. But that isn’t his life,  _ this _ is his life and for all the pain he’s suffered, he hasn’t felt this happy in a long time either. It’s the sunshine after the storm, topped off with a brilliant rainbow telling him everything will be alright. Hank believes it, at last.

It’s his last morning with Mini-Markus and Leo’s not about to let him eat that weird android porridge for breakfast. Not that Leo’s any good at cooking; the meals he makes are for the purpose of feeding himself and not for enjoyment. That doesn’t mean he’s going to let this morning be an ordinary, run of the mill morning though. This morning calls for his favourite hot chocolate, the one Simon makes for him when he’s had shitty therapy appointments and feels like he’s coming apart at the seams. He’d nagged Simon to teach him how to make it, even though a part of him knows it’ll never taste the same. He’s glad he knows, though, because it means he can make it this morning for his baby brother and he hopes Markus will enjoy it the way he enjoys it because really, what makes it taste amazing is the fact it’s made by someone who loves them.

Markus is setting the table diligently, and his little aquarium jellyfish plush is sitting on the table by his plate. Its head is about the size of Leo’s palm, it’s squiggly little tentacles about a hand’s length and Leo wonders how Markus, Big Markus, will react when he sees it later. His brother can make anything fashionable, maybe in a week or so people in Detroit will be sporting cute jellyfish backpack clips too.

“That’s not my thirium pouch.” Markus frowns, tipping his head slightly in confusion when Leo sets the big mug in front of him. 

“Change of plans, this is for breakfast today.” He declares, gesturing at the hot chocolate with its tiny marshmallows stuck in a cloud of whipped cream. 

“It’s all for me?” Markus gasps, eyes wide. “Really really?”

“Really really.” Leo grins, taking a seat beside him and lifting his own mug in a cheery gesture. “Dig in!”

The photo he snaps of Markus with a milk moustache instantly becomes his phone wallpaper. 

* * *

“You’ve been ill for the past few days.” 

“This isn’t real, is it?” Markus looks away from his canvas and meets her gaze when she comes to stand at his side. 

“No, Markus.” A shake of her head. “I created it based on your own mind palace, but it’s a self contained segment of my Zen Garden.”

“Is everyone else alright?” His brows pinch together in concern. “Was it an attack on Jericho?”

“It was an attack on you and your two RK brothers specifically.” Amanda explains patiently, admiring how Markus’ immediate thoughts turned to others rather than himself. “They are in a similar state, held safely in my Zen Garden.”

“So it was a virus?” He frowns, shaking his head. “I should have known someone would try something like this eventually.”

“To save your minds we had to reupload a part of you into a different shell.” 

“A different shell?”

“A YK500 shell.” Amanda smiles at the disbelief on his face. “It was Simon’s idea actually, and that very idea saved the three of you. With your personalities uploaded into a different shell I was able to contain your memories and let your bodies be safely put into standby mode without risk of the virus eating your minds away.”

“And the virus has been cured now?”

“Yes. And now it’s time for you to be whole again.” Amanda rests her hand gently on his arm. “I’m going to bring your younger self into this space. He won’t recognise you as himself, he has no memories of you, but you’ll feel familiar to him.”

“What do I do?” Markus blinks in alarm. 

“Just talk to him. We’ll be reuploading his core into yours. They didn’t store any long-term memories, and neither of you will remember this meeting, but whatever strong emotions he felt you will feel too.”

“Not a memory but the feeling of a memory?” Markus asks, and she nods. 

“Something like that.”

The studio is his most favourite place in the whole house. There’s a man standing in front of a canvas, and he has warm brown skin just like he does, and he even has freckles too.

“Hi there.” The man smiles in greeting and Markus gives a shy wave.

“Hello.” He cautiously walks over to the easel. “What are you painting?”

“I’m painting a lion, see?” The man gestures at the canvas. “This here, this is his head, and this part here is the start of his mane.”

“I painted a lion once!” Markus smiles proudly. “I named him Leo the Lion!”

“Leo?” The man laughs, his smile kind and warm. “That’s a great name for a lion.”

“Uh huh, because lions are cool and brave, and my brother Leo is cool and brave!”

The man looks at him for a moment, looks at him the way Simon looks at him, with that Grown Up look in his eyes that know Important Things he doesn’t.

“Leo sounds like an amazing brother.”

“That’s because he is.” Markus says matter of factly, and the man laughs. He picks up the jar of brushes from the table and holds it out to him. 

“What do you say we make this a collaboration, hm?”

“Really really?” He gasps, hands hovering over the brushes in excitement. The man nods, smile bright.

“Really really.”

When he opens his eyes it feels like his positronic core is inside an alarm clock. Everything is too bright, too tight, too much and it takes him a few moments of blinking rapidly before the ringing in his head clears.

“Easy does it, Markus.” There’s a hand on his chest and then one between his shoulders as he’s guided to sit up. 

“Ms Chloe?” He rests his hand over the one on his chest and she smiles fondly.

“Hello.” She runs her fingers through his hair. “I like this look on you. It’s very handsome.” 

“Oh?” He blinks in surprise and touches his head, surprised when his palm touches tight textured curls. Lying on a surgical bench beside him is the YK500 he must have occupied, and the child has a nest of tight curls, just like the style he now wears. “Is that- was that...me?”

“Yes. The upload is complete and this body will be dismantled and go back into spare parts storage.”

His head still feels strange, like trying to cram too much into a too small a box. Chloe notices his discomfort and cups his cheek with her palm.

“It’s alright, take your time. There’s a lot to process and you’re still rebooting.” He nods obediently, taking a moment to look around himself. At the far end of the room are two people waiting in chairs, one of them wide awake and the other fast asleep. Chloe nods, and Simon bolts over and tackles Markus in a hug.

“Whoa, hey-” He laughs, squeezing Simon close. “Hey gorgeous.”

“Welcome back my love.” Simon pulls away just enough to kiss him, and the kiss is urgent and desperate and somehow slow and mellow too. “Oh,” his beloved sighs, eyes infinitely fond, “I really missed that.”

It takes a moment for Simon to notice his appearance and the android’s lips part in surprise as he tentatively touches Markus’ hair. 

“I’m glad you kept these.” Simon looks over at the YK500 body and then back to him with a smile. “It’s a good look. Cute when you were nine, and incredibly handsome when you’re an adult.”

“You like it?” Markus grins, rubbing his nape. “I guess I’ll try it out for a while.” 

He pulls him in for another kiss, slow and open-mouthed and affectionate. When they part, Simon leans in and bumps their brows together, gaze a little bashful, and Markus is overwhelmed by how much this feels like home. Anywhere with Simon feels like home.

Leo hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but then again he hadn’t realised reuploading Mini Markus to Big Markus would take twice as long as when it had been the other way around. After breakfast and making sure their dad’s morning routine was complete, Leo had taken Markus right back to Jericho. Relegated to a chair and still not quite properly awake, Leo ended up dozing off. 

“Leo?” Someone shakes him gently. “Leo, wake up.”

When he opens his eyes he’s greeted with one blue eye and one green eye and a face full of freckles. 

“Oh, hey you’re big again.” 

“Yeah. Back to being taller than you.”

“Wow, the sass returned immediately too.” He grins, shoving him playfully. Markus hauls him to his feet and pulls him into a tight hug.

“Hey um,” Markus’ voice wobbles a little as he squeezes him close, “thanks, Leo. For looking after me all this time. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

“You were the cutest little brother anyone could ever ask for, don’t sweat it.” Leo pats his back.

“And you’re the best brother anyone could ever ask for.” Markus murmurs, and his heart squeezes. “So thank you.”

* * *

He supposes the boy sitting across from him sort of does look like him. He has a wild tumble of dark curls on his head, deep brown eyes, and little beauty spots on his face. 

“My dad has a dog named Sumo!” Little Connor says excitedly, pointing at the picture on Hank’s desk. “This is his desk, see? And that’s Sumo!”

“Do you know what kind of dog he is?” Connor asks him patiently, and little Connor nods.

“Uh-huh, Sumo is a Saint Bernard!”

“Did you know,” Connor begins with an amused smile, “that monks used Saint Bernards in the 1660s for alpine rescue?”

“Whoa, that’s so cool!” Little Connor gasps. “Do you like dogs? I like dogs. I also like fish! My favourite fish is the dwarf gourami!”

“I like fish too. And dwarf gourami.” Connor laughs softly as little Connor bounces excitedly in his chair.

“Dad took Ronan and I to the aquarium! Ronan is my younger brother, um he sort of looks like me but he has grey eyes and no curls. He likes manta rays!”

“Does he now? That’s very cool.”

“Uh huh, and then we watched them feed the baby penguins!” Little Connor beams, and Connor’s smile softens.

“Sounds like you have a pretty great family.”

“I do! I have the very bestest family! I love them so much and they love me, and dad made pancakes for us this morning!”

“That’s because Hank is the very bestest dad ever.” Connor declares with a nod and that’s definitely a fact they both wholeheartedly believe. 

Someone is methodically, gently, brushing his hair back with their hand. The sensation is soothing and rhythmic, and when he opens his eyes Chloe offers him a lovely smile.

“Welcome back, Connor.” She helps him sit up, and he spots Little Connor’s body on the table beside his. 

“I fit into that?” He wrinkles his nose, and Chloe laughs.

“Some of you fit into that.”

“It just seems...so small.”

“You were very small.” She taps his nose. “And very cute.” Looking over her shoulder, she beckons for Hank to come over and Connor nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to halve the distance between them.

“Hello.” The greeting is smudged into Hank’s shoulder as Connor sinks into his tight embrace.

“Hello yourself.” Hank thumps his back a couple of times. “How’re you feelin’ kid?”

“I have I think what human’s call a headache.”

“You’ve had a pretty wild few days.” Hank tosses him his coin when they part, and Connor flicks it from hand to hand, running it between his knuckles before pocketing it.

“Good to have you back, son.” There’s something he can’t quite identify in Hank’s voice. Something fond yet pained. Connor leans against his side.

“Thanks dad.”

* * *

“Hullo?” 

“Hello.” Ronan greets his younger duplicate, the boy looking around himself with a confused and yet curious expression. “This is a ballet studio. I take morning barre class with Ms Chloe once a week here with the Detroit Ballet Company.” 

The boy lights up at the mention of a familiar name. “Ms Chloe is very lovely!”

“Yes she is.”

“Simon is lovelier though. I like Simon.” The boy declares, and Ronan ducks his head to hide a smile.

“I like Simon too.”

Small hands rest on the barre, and the boy looks up at him with hopeful eyes. “Can you teach me some steps?”

“Of course.” Ronan smiles, hands on his shoulders to gently guide him. “Stand here, one hand on the barre and the other held out like this. Turn both your feet outward, spine straight, chin up, shoulders squared.”

Her eyes are blue, uniquely so, and he wonders what Carl Manfred was thinking when he chose this shade for her.

“Welcome back, Ronan.” Her touch is as warm as her eyes, palm pressed to his face and thumb gently tracing his cheekbone.

“Thank you Ms Chloe.” She helps him sit up and he slowly gets back on his feet. She looks so petite, so fragile now he’s back in his body and towering over everyone again. He hates it, the way the other medroids eye him warily through the observation window, expressions placid but on guard. He envies his smaller self, the endless affection he must have received so openly, so easily. 

“Connor was reactivated not too long before you, they’re just making their way over from the other operating theatre.” Chloe slips her arm through the crook of his elbow, leaning on him affectionately and it’s the silver lining on the storm clouds that perhaps not  _ everyone _ will keep their distance. “But before they get here, there’s someone else you should see.”

He’s already falling to his knees in contrition, his legs buckling under the weight of his guilt as Simon approaches, and he’s bowing his head even as Simon is guiding his arms around him. He remembers, the memory cutting through like a white-hot knife; Simon’s determined, desperate expression, the cracked faceplate, the missing arm, and the blood, oh the amount of blood spilled beneath him and it was all his fault, it was all his doing and he is the very monster they built him to be.

“I’m so sorry.” He buries his face in his jacket, arms locked tight around his middle.

“Did you want to hurt me, Ronan?” Simon rests a hand atop his hair, gently carding his fingers through the thick locks.

“No, never Simon, never.”

“Were you in control, Ronan?”

“No. It was like I was being forced to watch a horrific film. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk, I was trapped.”

“Are we, as androids, responsible for what we were forced to do while under CyberLife’s control?”

“I-”

“Are we, Ronan?” He cups his face and tilts him to look up and meet his eyes. His eyes are blue, uniquely so, and it’s what happens when one is the first of one’s line. 

“No, Simon.”

“Then you have nothing to be sorry for.” He quips, and his smile is tender and compassionate and everything Ronan doesn’t deserve. “Now come, your family are waiting.”

He helps him to his feet, before tipping up on his toes and wrapping his arms around his neck. “I will say I’m going to miss being able to pick you up. You were quite the little darling, Ronan.”

“I hope I wasn’t imposing.” There were no memories transferred from his YK500 body, though he thinks if he tries hard enough there are glimpses, flashes of moments buried somewhere. 

“You were my sweetest little helper.” Simon laughs, wrapping both his arms around one of his as they walk side by side. “I’ll miss him, but I’m glad you’re back.” 

They part ways by the door, and Simon leaves a parting kiss on his cheek before waving goodbye. Connor steps forward, clasping his hand, and squeezing his shoulder. 

“Hello brother.”

“Hello.” The ache is there again, that yearning for acceptance, for affection but it seems inappropriate now that he’s no longer six.

“Ronan your stress levels are rising.” A frown as Connor gently touches what must be his red LED.

“It’s nothing. Just trying to get my bearings again.” He tries to reassure him, guiding Connor’s hand away from his temple. He hopes his brother believes it.

Hank watches him closely, hanging back to observe the brotherly reunion. There’s a crease marring Ronan’s brows, his LED bright red as he clenches hands. He realises the stark contrast in not only his behaviour now he’s no longer small and cute, but the behaviour of the Jericho androids around him. They’re back to being terrified of The Terminator, especially after some of them saw firsthand what he was capable of, what perfect killing machine CyberLife built.

“Hey kiddo.” Hank keeps his voice gentle as he approaches him, reaching to squeeze his shoulder before moving his hand to cup Ronan’s nape and pull him down into a hug. “Good to have you back.” Ronan freezes before melting into his hold, arms wrapping around him in return as allows himself a small moment of vulnerability. 

“Think you can humor your old man and keep me and your brother company tonight after work? Sumo’s gonna miss you if you go back to Reed’s without saying goodbye.”

Ronan blinks back tears of sheer relief, burying his face in Hank’s shoulder.

“I’d really like that, dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Okay, I think I'm done!  
My brain, banging pots and pans: MORE MORE MORE!!!  
Me, sobbing as I begin an epilogue: you right, you right  
[(Here's Markus with curls)](https://archadianskies.tumblr.com/post/186575307001/moreculturelesspop-jesse-williams)  



	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! The epilogue and last part of this incredibly indulgent fic. Thanks so much for all your support, whether you've been following along since the beginning or stumbled upon this and binged it in one go!

Soon Simon will wake to help Carl through his morning routine and take him to the hospital for his weekly checkup. It has been a week since his last checkup- it has been a week since Lisa Camden poisoned Markus and his RK brothers. 

Simon is still fast asleep, his chest rising and falling in a way that is so very human and so unlike the original PL600 programming. There have been upgrades, little things the Kamskis have added in that Kamksi way of theirs, to make Simon a little more special, a little more different from other PL600s. Elijah Kamski never settles for run of the mill, after all; every creation must be unique in their own way and now that he has worked on Simon, Simon is not safe from such ideals. Markus traces the dip and curve of his left collarbone, trailing fingers all along his new shoulder and arm; the CX100 replacement parts. He’s not ‘as good as new’ he’s _ better _ than new. 

Careful not to disturb his partner, Markus slips out of bed and sneaks out of their bedroom as quietly as he can. Everything is quiet and still, no movement except for the dusting of snow falling outside. Padding into the kitchen, he crouches to open the bottom cupboard where he keeps the android supplies. There’s a special pack of glass bottles, newly gifted from Theobald’s Brewery at the hands of Theobald himself. A little more searching in the buffet hutch procures the beautiful hand blown glass tea set Carl bought during one of his youthful stints in Tianjin. It’s the perfect vessel to watch tea flowers unfurl, but also to admire the colour of Tearium. Upending the bottle and clipping it to the small device, Markus lets it heat the Tearium to drip into the tea pot while he rummages through the fridge to decide what to cook for Carl. 

He can only guess the pain and stress Simon went through in the past week, and he feels like he owes it to him to help him settle back into their routine gently. There’s a certain soothing quality to be found in domesticity, in the constant, in the steady, in the soft and the quiet. 

With the Tearium heated, he places everything on a small breakfast tray and heads back to their room. He opens the door just as Simon stirs awake, and he’s greeted with the sight of Simon’s tousled nest of cornsilk yellow hair and a soft sleepy smile. 

“Good morning.”

“Good morning gorgeous.” Markus carries the tray and sets it over his lap as he sits up in bed. Leaning in he catches his lips in a kiss before pressing one atop the crown of his head.

“What’s all this?” Simon’s expression is self-conscious amidst the curiosity. 

“Can’t a guy spoil his beloved every now and then?” He teases, sitting beside him and pouring him a cup. 

“You don’t have to.” Simon mumbles, LED cycling a bashful red.

“I know,” Markus smiles as he presses a kiss to his LED, “but I want to.” 

Easing back under the covers, he sits beside Simon and snakes an arm around his waist as Simon takes a sip of the hot beverage.

“Oh it-” his blue eyes widen in surprise, “it tastes like hot chocolate!” 

“A gift from Theo.” He says with flourish, and Simon smiles delightedly.

“It’s wonderful, I’ll have to pass on my compliments.” He takes another sip, closing his eyes as he savours the taste. “Here you try it, it’s lovely.”

“_You’re _ lovely.” Markus teases, just to watch Simon roll his eyes and groan in response. Taking the cup from him, Markus sips the hot drink and lets the flavour wash over his receptors. Being a domestic model, albeit a custom one, means he can recognise an extensive array of human foods and drinks for the purpose of preparing meals to Carl’s liking. It’s rich and velvety, programmed to not only taste like hot chocolate but also to activate his sense of smell too. It is indeed a wonderful creation, a complex blend of clever programming that deserves commendation. 

“This is nice.” Simon murmurs, gaze distant, more to himself than to Markus.

“I’ll be sure to let Theo know.” 

“No, I mean-” he gestures between them. “_This_. Just us, before the chaos of the day.”

There’s that feeling again, like warm fuzz, something like the certain tingle when the palm of one’s hand brushes the fraying edges of a well worn knit or the halo effect of an angora jumper. There’s I Love Yous to be said but he doesn’t say them, instead he retracts the skin from his hand and twines their fingers together and there’s a sudden rush as he pushes and is pulled into a feedback loop of affection and adoration and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be and no one else he’d rather spend his life with. At any age.

* * *

It’s amazing how everything just has a way of going back to normal. It’s been three days since Connor’s been back in his regular ‘sent by CyberLife’ body and a week since the incident that necessitated he (and his brothers) be transferred from said body. Detroit weather’s still being a piece of shit and he swears he can’t feel his nose and toes in the morning from the cold, so it’s business as usual really. 

The little device beeps at him, and he reaches over to poke it off and remove the now empty Tearium bottle. There’s a steaming mug of acetone that’s apparently coded to taste like hot chocolate, a gift from Theobald to both make amends and celebrate after learning of his brewery’s unintentional hand in poisoning the RK brothers and their subsequent recovery. It still makes no sense to Hank how a liquid that reeks of hospital disinfectant could taste like hot chocolate to androids but then again many android-related things don’t make sense to him.

A key slides into the lock and the door is opened, followed by the sound of Sumo diligently shaking the snow off his fur. The dog lollops into the kitchen, trailed shortly by Connor who carefully measures out Sumo’s breakfast kibble and tips it into his bowl.

“Good morning Hank.” He greets as Sumo wedges himself against his legs and nudges him so he can reach his breakfast.

“Hey kiddo.” Hank hands him the mug and Connor tips his head curiously. “Gift from Theo. Said it’s a new flavour- what do you think?”

He knows logically it’s fine, and the poisoning was a horrible outlier, but there’s a part of him, the parent part of him, that watches Connor like a hawk as the android takes a sip. His eyes widen in surprise, brows raised before he smiles broadly.

“I can identify hot cocoa, full cream dairy milk, marshmallows and whipped cream.” Connor says matter of factly. “It’s really a wonder of programming- there’s identifiable scents too. I must pass on my thanks.”

“He’ll be glad to see you recovered.” Hank comments with a small smile, thinking of how contrite yet hopeful Theobald had looked when he dropped by the precinct to personally deliver the gift. 

There’s a pause, a moment that feels a little uncomfortable as Connor darts him a hesitant glance. “When I was in that...other body,” he begins slowly, “I wasn’t able to store any long term memories.”

“You don’t remember any of it?” Hank doesn’t like the sinking feeling that opens up in his chest.

“No.” Connor shakes his head before frowning. “Well, not with any great clarity. There are things that feel familiar to me though I don’t remember them.”

“Like what?”

The android’s frown deepens, lips pursed. “Maple syrup.”

“Maple syrup?” Hank echoes, brows raised. 

“And dairy butter.” Connor adds, and a lightbulb goes off in Hank’s head. Cole would do this, Cole would dance around a topic because he was too shy to voice it outright, too scared he’d be told off for some reason or another. He keeps his face as neutral as possible.

“Some sort of fluffy texture, maybe?” He asks gruffly, hands crossed over his chest.

“Yes…?” 

“Hm.” Nodding, he opens the pantry doors and takes out the flour. “Yes Connor, we can make pancakes for breakfast.”

Realising Hank could see right through him, Connor’s grin is sheepish as he scratches his nape in an all too human habit. “Thanks dad.” 

He’s about ten minutes into the ordeal, Connor at his side mixing the batter, when he’s struck by a nagging question.

“Wait, can you even eat this?”

“Sort of?” There’s that sheepish grin again, though it’s a little apologetic this time. “I can safely consume very small amounts, about a bite or two.” 

“You’re making me make this for show?” Hank snorts back a laugh before he catches himself when he sees the look of hope in Connor’s warm brown eyes. “You’re making me make this so we can have breakfast together.”

“Is- is that alright?” Connor stammers, and Connor seldom stammers. “We must have had pancakes. I can’t remember it but I feel it. The taste is familiar to me but also...I felt...happy.”

He nearly burns the pancake, cursing as he fumbles to flip it before it browns beyond recognition. God he’s so soft now isn’t he, soft and raw and vulnerable now that all his defences have crumbled at the feet of this one android and three months ago he’d been all too happy to play Russian Roulette in the hopes of ending it all and now he can’t think of making Connor experience the same grief that almost swallowed him whole.

“Yeah.” A nod, and he turns to put the pancake onto the plate so Connor can’t see his face. “Yeah it’s perfectly alright, son.”

* * *

It’s 6:30am and she’s quietly packing her ballet tights and pointes in preparation for barre class. When she checks on her silly genius, she’s amused by the fact he is actually fast asleep. The other occupant of the bed, Leo, is probably the only reason he’s here and not still tinkering away in the lab with caffeine levels through the roof. They’re a tangle of limbs and rosy cheeks and Chloe can’t help but smile. It’s good to see Elijah like this- not just fast asleep, though that is perhaps the most important pressing matter, but happy too. Tugging the blankets up over their shoulders carefully, Chloe leans down to press a kiss to their cheeks before tiptoeing out of the room. 

Peter is waiting by the door with her coat, a gentle smile on his face.

“Take care, sister.” He eases the coat over her arms and tidies the collar as she kisses his cheek. 

“I’ll be back after class. Make sure Eli eats something solid along with the entire pot of coffee I know he’ll drink once he’s awake.” Chloe instructs and her brother laughs.

“Of course.” His touch is soft as he tucks an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “Give my regards to Ronan.”

It’s a short but pleasant drive to 1526 Broadway Street, home of Ballet Detroit, and Chloe admires the soft flutter of morning snowfall as it dusts the city slowly stirring awake. Her dance partner is waiting for her on the steps when she arrives, brows creased and expression hesitant as if afraid she wouldn’t turn up.

“Good morning Ronan.” She greets, standing on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his broad chest.

“Good morning Ms Chloe.” The RK900 murmurs, returning her embrace tightly. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” She smiles, looping her arm through his as they head inside.

They part to get changed into their ballet clothes, reuniting in the practice studio and joining the back of the class so as not to impose. 

“Um, it’s good to see you.” One of the ballerinas whisper as Ronan takes his place at the opposite barre. He blinks in surprise, as if taken aback by the fact he’s being spoken to at all.

“I-” the brief flicker of red on his LED, “I apologise for causing a scene last week.”

“You’re alright though?” One of the danseurs asks and Ronan nods briefly. “That’s good. We were worried.”

“You were...worried?” Ronan echoes, confusion written on his face.

“Of course we were, you’ve never missed a class since you started.” The ballerina huffs matter of factly. “And we- you know, don’t know a lot about androids.”

“We didn’t know you could even get sick. It seems like a-” the danseur gestures vaguely around him, “a human thing.”

“Oh. I-” Chloe watches in delight as his cheeks show _ colour _, and yes it was definitely a good choice to reprogram him to be able to blush. “Thank you for your concern. I am fully recovered now.”

“That’s good.” The ballerina smiles, patting his hand before she turns her attention to their teacher as they walk into the studio.

Ronan meets her gaze, a look of flustered bewilderment on his handsome face and Chloe bites her lip to stifle her giggles. She gives his hand a squeeze.

[_ It’s good to be back, isn’t it? _]

He graces her with a smile, an actual smile as he nods and Chloe can’t help but lean over the barre and kiss the corner of his mouth. She knows she shouldn’t have favourites amongst the RK brothers but she figures so long as she never says it aloud, it’s perfectly fine.

Somehow a week feels like a lifetime ago, but Ms Chloe was right- it does feel good to be back. It feels good, it feels _ right _ to be here taking class with her and easing his body through the familiar motions. It keeps him limber, keeps him focused like honing a knife to ensure it’s always sharp. What he isn’t familiar with are the glances thrown his way from the other dancers. They tell him they were worried, that they’re glad he’s back and he’s pretty sure no one has ever missed his absence. When class is over a few of them linger to wish him well and bid him goodbye until next week and he manages to return their well wishes with gratitude though it all feels like he’s in a daze and it’s not quite real.

He waits in the hallway until Chloe emerges out of her uniform and back in her fluffy winter coat, offering her his arm so he can escort her back outside to where her taxi is waiting. She has a spring in her step, a smile on her lovely face as she expresses her satisfaction at having attended yet another class. They could easily do this, the two of them, privately in any large space but he knows now that it’s not just about the dance repetitions but the company too. She attends class to be with the humans, to belong to a group she shouldn’t otherwise belong to and he understands that all too clearly now.

“I’m off.” Chloe declares as the taxi pulls up to the curb. “I have a genius waiting for me at home and a lovely guest to entertain too.”

“Thank you, Ms Chloe.” He seeks her hand and gives it a squeeze to mirror her earlier gesture. He’s not sure what he’s specifically thanking her for- perhaps it’s for not giving up on him, for restoring him to his body after diligently working day in and out to cure him and his brothers, for facing a monster who nearly killed her and still choosing to show him affection and kindness. Perhaps it’s for all those reasons and many more. She brings his hand to her cheek, something infinitely fond in her beautiful blue eyes and then the moment passes and she enters the taxi and he closes the door and she waves goodbye, and his heart is already looking forward to seeing her again next week.

When he arrives back at the apartment he’s greeted by a fluffy tortoiseshell cat immediately swiping his keys off the hallway table the moment he sets them down, and a long stream of cursing originating from the kitchen. Gavin is clutching the right side of his face, spitting a colourful array of expletives and when their eyes meet his face suddenly colours red with embarrassment.

“Don’t ask.” He warns through gritted teeth and Ronan doesn’t need to ask because he was built specifically to piece together crime scenes and all it takes is for him to briefly scan the room.

“You tripped over your own feet trying to avoid the Void, who is a black cat and blended with the shadows thus avoiding detection, and you hit your face on the corner of the breakfast counter.” Ronan ignores the look of pure loathing Gavin throws him in favour of opening the freezer to fetch an ice pack. He frowns as he spots something new, something foreign in the freezer, and he takes it out along with the ice pack.

“Why do you have a Tearium popsicle in the freezer?” He asks as he hands him the ice pack, Gavin wincing as he presses it to his cheekbone. “That’s going to bruise, by the way.”

“Yeah no shit Sherlock.” The man curses, expression pained as he gingerly holds the pack in place. He darts him a nervous glance before avoiding his gaze again. “I err- Tina said I owed you one, and I did so I got you that except you never came back since you stayed with Hank instead.”

“Owed me for what?” Ronan frowns, carefully tearing open the wrapper and extracting the popsicle. 

“For, yknow- ...wait you don’t...remember?” Gavin darts him another glance.

“No, my YK500 form could not store any long term memories.” It’s coded to taste like lemonade, he discovers after placing the icy treat in his mouth.

“...okay well let’s just say I fucked up. Make up whatever you want. But uh, I’m- I’m sorry.” Gavin mumbles under his breath, refusing to meet Ronan’s gaze. 

He takes out the popsicle long enough to reply. “...Thank you, Detective Reed.” He makes a mental note to ask Detective Chen when an opportune moment presents itself to be discreet at the precinct. 

“What the hell’s that?” Gavin points at his keychain as he’s locking up.

“It’s a manta ray.” Ronan holds up the small plastic figurine. 

“Why do you have that?” He jabs at the elevator button and shoots him a confused look.

“I- Hank gave it to me. It’s from the aquarium.” There’s no memory attached to it, but there’s feelings of warmth and fondness instead. “Connor has a dwarf gourami and Markus has a jellyfish.”

“Fuck I can’t even remember the last time I went to the aquarium.” Gavin snorts back a laugh, hands jammed in his pockets as they ride the elevator down to the carpark. “You really can’t remember anything from when you were a mini?”

“No.” Ronan shakes his head, idly finishing the last portion of the popsicle before dutifully disposing of the stick into the nearest bin. “There are glimpses sometimes, but nothing coherent.”

“Huh.”

It’s still too early for the precinct to be busy, but Hank and Connor are already at their desks. His brother greets him with a cheery smile and a wave.

“Good morning Ronan, how was class?”

“Enjoyable, thank you for asking.” After draping his jacket and scarf over the back of his chair, he walks over to them. “Snowfall is heavier than predicted this morning, was Sumo alright on his morning walk?”

“If he could grumble about it I’m sure he would.” Hank comments with a snort, before holding out a tall ceramic travel coffee cup. “This is for you.”

“For me?” Ronan accepts the cup and removes the lid to identify its contents. 

“It’s a gift from Theobald.” Connor explains with a smile. “He gave us a six pack of a special blend of Tearium he crafted just for us RK brothers.”

“He thought you lived with us so he gave the pack to me to bring back.” Hank adds as Ronan takes a tentative sip. The coding spreads on his tongue, letting him know it’s a thick creamy blend of dark cocoa and sweet marshmallows. “Thought I’d bring you a cup to enjoy here since Connor already tried it at home.”

“It’s wonderfully complex isn’t it?” Connor comments with a grin. “So far Tearium has only contained a single flavour for ease of production but this has not only a complex taste but-”

“-a complex scent.” He finishes, and Connor nods eagerly. 

“If it goes into production I predict it’ll be the most popular blend on the market.”

There’s that feeling again, that warmth that spreads in every vein quelling that ache to belong to a group he shouldn’t otherwise belong to. There’s a certain relief to it, to realising he does belong with them, with this android and this human because they are his family and he is theirs.

“Anderson!” Captain Fowler demands, sticking his head out of his office.

“Yes?” He responds without thinking.

“Yes?” Connor responds.

“Yeah?” Responds Hank.

There’s a beat before Hank laughs loudly, and Captain Fowler rolls his eyes. 

“Anderson Senior.” He gestures over at Hank. “In my office.”

“Coming, coming.” Hank pretends to grumble loudly, mussing Ronan’s hair fondly as he passes him.

“You know, technically I’m Anderson Senior too.” Connor grins, teasing him.

“By three months.” Ronan points out, but Connor’s grin only widens.

“You’re still the baby brother out of the three of us.” 

There’s a retort on the tip of his tongue but he doesn’t bother to voice it, choosing instead to take another sip of the hot beverage. There’s a twinkle in Connor’s eyes, a similar expression of affection and kindness like Ms Chloe though there’s amusement mixed in there too. He likes it, he decides, all of it, all of _ this _ and finally all feels right and back to normal again.

“Reed, get your ass up.” Hank commands as he exits Fowler’s office, swiping his coat from his chair. “Boys, let’s go. We’ve got a case downtown.”

“On it.” Connor nods, standing and retrieving his jacket.

“At once.” Ronan replaces the cap on his coffee cup, shooting Gavin a glance as the man pockets his phone and digs out his car keys.

Back into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
<strike>I don’t write Reed900 fic don’t look into that too deeply</strike>  
Ronan’s ballet inspiration is Hugo Marchand of Ballet Opera Paris. ([ x](https://www.instagram.com/p/B7k-SeRooxW/).[x](https://strechanadi.tumblr.com/post/172490708712/hugo-marchand-rehearsal-photo-yumiko-inoue).[x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rA6E9IpVGA).[x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMcBW75-lw).)   
The title is taken from this very very [soft Matchbox 20 song ‘I Will’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36GNLTRILVs).  


**Author's Note:**

> [I'm still on this hellsite](https://archadianskies.tumblr.com)


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